Starfleet academy finds out Kirk was on Tarsus iv
by CharactersSecretsExposed
Summary: Due to the upcoming anniversary of Tarsus iv, Kirk and the other cadets go into the forest as an assignment to reproduce what happened on Tarsus iv and test their ability. The other cadets become suspicious of Kirk as he seems to goes through the experience with... experience. After the assignment, a number of events unfold that arouse suspicion and gradually reveal Jim's past.
1. Assignment

Jim Kirk mentally steeled himself for his last class of the day. The last was always the hardest since the compounding work from the earlier classes caused him to grow weary and filled him with dread for the upcoming tests and assignments he knew he was about to receive in this class. Kirk was still lost in his thoughts when the teacher's monotone drawl began to pierce his sub-consciousness.

'Due to the upcoming anniversary of the Tarsus IV massacre, the next few assignments will be based on this event. As it may be, your forthcoming assignment is a practical one.'

Majority of the class momentarily woke up from their discreet naps and found enough energy to grin at each other before giving in to the effort and slumping forward again in their seats. Kirk however, slumped lower as a tirade of memories overwhelmed him.

Tarsus IV.

It was a nightmare to have to hear that name let alone have to study it as a part of his class. He quietly began to hyperventilate and strangled the edge of his desk before regaining control over his memories and return to his normal seating position.

'Your practical is relatively simple enough; half of you will be assigned as the locals of Tarsus IV, and the other half will be the soldiers hunting them. You will all go into the forest nearby the academy and attempt to 'survive' for two nights. The soldiers will be issued with phasers as well as rations and the locals will only be allowed to wear civilian clothing. Locals can attain food by stealing from the soldiers or each other and vice verses. If you are stunned you will be considered 'deceased' and teleported back to the academy to spend the rest of the duration of this assignment in the academy hall. Locals who survive will be rewarded with 20 credits by the end of the three days.'

Kirk's face was sheened with sweat as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. It wouldn't do to start crying and invite suspicion from his classmates. If word ever got out that he was one of the Tarsus 9 – the 9 that survived the Tarsus IV massacre – he would be bombarded with an endless flow of questions. The teacher read out the names of the cadets who were to be soldiers or locals. Kirk was assigned to be a local. By the time he had controlled his nervous breakdown class was over and they were dismissed.

'Cadets assemble at the edge of the forest 0500 tomorrow to start your assignment.'

Kirk forced himself to his feet as the rest of the class started to pack up and leave the class. As soon as he was out of the classroom Bones caught up to him, a deep frown plastered on his face.

'Damn practicals, what do teachers ever think we'll get out of running around anyway?'

Kirk just shrugged and continued his stiff-legged gait towards his dorm. Bones narrowed his eyes at his friend at the apparent lack of answer but glanced down at his timetable and gave a shrug of his own.

'I've got a test to study for, might as well head over to the library and start. You want to come?'

Kirk shrugged again. Bones rolled his eyes.

'Whatever.'

He turned left towards the library and left Kirk to his thoughts. Returning to his dorm, Kirk went straight to bed and lay there afraid to go to sleep with all his memories filling his head. Eventually he did and the nightmares rushed in.

* * *

At 0430 Kirk woke up, still tired from his restless sleep. He had been plagued with nightmares of his time on Tarsus IV and now he was about to experience them again in real life, not just in his head. Reluctantly he dressed in civilian clothes and went down to the kitchen to grab himself a quick breakfast before heading down to the forest. After all the dread that had been shadowing him since the announcement of their practical, he was now strangely calm. He had come to Starfleet Academy to become an Officer, possibly a Captain. Whatever had happened to him in the past had to be retained. If the cadets and teachers at the academy knew how traumatized he was they might look at and treat him differently, Kirk figured that wouldn't put him in their favor as a Captain if they knew how weak he was – emotionally. If anything, his experience could help make this assignment easier as a result of his years of practice.

He reached the forest at 0455 and joined the small crowd of cadets dressed in civilian clothes. He spotted Bones and began to make his way towards his friend.

'Freezing my bloody ass off is making that 20 credits less of a motivation compared to the hypothermia I'll get when this damn assignment is over!'

'Morning to you too Bones,' replied Kirk.

'It's not like a starship will ever be stranded on a freezing planet, the likelihood we'll need this sort of experience is practically never.'

Kirk decided to remain silent; he let Bones continue his rant, he knew that Bones would eventually calm down enough to accept the situation and go with it. The conversations of other cadets died down as their teacher walked through the cadets to confirm that they had followed the requirements and that none of the 'locals' had hidden food. Once confirmed, she walked over to stand where the ground was slightly elevated.

'Locals will be allowed 20 minutes to scatter into the forest – you will be alerted when the soldiers enter the forest by a brief klaxon alarm. As of now your practical has begun.'

Kirks heartbeat raced as adrenaline surged through his system, he was about to relive his past – now all he had to do was make sure he didn't have fall apart while they were in the forest. The other cadets slowly began to realize what their teacher had said and they hurried to enter the concealment of the forest. Kirk and Bones tagged along with the group and Kirk broke into a light jog.

'What do you think you're doing?' Uhura asked him irritably; she was in a bad mood at being assigned to the locals – a group she saw as less superior and unacceptable for her high grades. 'Your wasting your energy you idiot.'

Kirk didn't so much as glance in her direction, he kept his head faced forward.

'It won't matter if we have less energy when we're dead. I'm going to put as much distance between them and me before our 20 minutes are up.'

Bones raised his eyebrow at Kirk's reasoning but shrugged at Uhura and jogged after Kirk. A couple of the cadets got the idea and started to jog as well, the other cadets rolled their eyes at them and continued walking. Kirk regarded them indifferently; he had seen others who had made their mistake, wrongly concluding that the soldiers were far behind them when they were really only a few metres behind. None of those people had survived.

After 20 minutes the small group heard the klaxons – now far behind them – and quickened their pace, after a few more minutes they all stopped and some of them doubled over in an attempt to catch their breath. Kirk slowly breathed in through his nose and out his mouth. He knew if he took the same gasping breaths as the others he'd sooner get a stich.

'We…need…. a plan' One of the cadets gasped in-between breaths.

Kirk shook his head.

'Even it we made one there are a lot of things that could go wrong and then we'd have no idea what to do next. Better to rely on ourselves, just go with whatever happens the next few days.'

The Cadet glared at Kirk.

'At least we'd have a plan; anything is better than nothing, you got any better ideas pinhead?'

Kirk shrugged, he didn't bother pointing out that he'd already suggested an alternative. If the cadet wanted to trust his life with a plan he could do whatever he wanted so long as he didn't drag Kirk into his suicidal idea. He decided to split from the loudmouth but then realized that the other cadets had more or less agreed with the idea and Kirk didn't fancy running off into the woods by himself. _Might as well stick with the group for now _he thought.

'Alright everyone gather 'round under this tree and we'll make a plan of what to do from here on out,' loudmouth announced

At the word _plan_ he glared pointedly at Kirk but Kirk shrugged to himself mentally and let the idiot continue his ridiculous rant. Irritably, he noticed that the rest of the cadets easily obeyed loudmouth and had simply let him be the leader of the group when they couldn't be bothered to use their noggins. He counted 6 cadets in the group. Majority was human including himself, Uhura, Bones and loudmouth. The other two cadets were an Andorian and a Tellarite.

'First things first, we'll need food and water if we're to survive here. I don't think shelter will be much of a problem, just find a bush or something to sleep in or a tree if there are soldiers around.'

_Well what do you know, he's actually uses his brain_ mused Kirk

'Why the hell would we want to sleep in a tree?' grumbled Bones

'To hide from the soldiers, weren't you listening?' sneered the Andorian.

'What's the point of hiding when you wake up in the middle of the night with broken bones in your leg?

'Better broken bones than getting caught!'

'You might as well be caught if you have broken legs,' Kirk told the Andorian.

'I don't care how you sleep, if you get caught that's not my problem!' hissed loudmouth.

Kirk smiled inwardly when he saw the frustrated expression on loudmouth's face.

'The point is, we need to get food from the soldiers. We'll probably be able to find running water somewhere in this forest but if we don't eat we'll get weak and definitely get caught.'

The Andorian rolled his eyes but didn't argue with loudmouth, everyone knew what loudmouth said was correct, even if some of them didn't agree.

'How are we going to split the food?' asked the Tellarite.

'Well I'm definitely not sharing whatever I take; if I risk getting stunned I think it's only fair that I get to keep my winnings,' announced the Andorian.

Loudmouth nodded his head in agreement, 'Yeah that sounds fine to me, survival of the fittest aye?'

The Tellarite nodded too. Despite the fact that they had more or less formed a group, the three cadets had resigned to selfishness without a thought to the wellbeing of anyone else. Kirk shook his head in disgust, this was no way to survive; on tarsus iv, his group had trusted Kirk and each other. The older ones always helped the younger ones and Kirk himself had always made sure that his boys were properly fed (as properly as you could get in their situation) before attending to himself. The only reason the group had survived so long was because of their reliance on each other and their bond that made them like family.

'You got a problem with that?' spat out loudmouth

He and the others obviously weren't going to give up their hold on future food so Kirk didn't bother voicing his thoughts.

'Nothing. You guys can keep your own food but I'll share mine with Uhura and Bones.'

The Andorian snorted 'whatever, you humans are such weaklings. Don't expect anything from me.'

'I don't' replied Kirk.

Bones shrugged empathetically at Kirk.

'Thanks.'

Kirk gave his own shrug. Uhura narrowed her eyes at Jim for a few seconds than nodded. Kirk took that as a thank you.

The group hiked through the bush until the sun had sunk low over the earth and darkness started to settle in. They had kept their eyes and ears open for any sign of guards or locals with food with no such luck. At one point in the afternoon the Tellarite found a small pond and they had stopped to drink and rest before setting off again. Thankfully, loudmouth had ceased his talking as the sun hiked higher into the sky but as the shadows grew longer he began to whine much to the annoyance of everyone in the group.

'Stupid practical, all this walking has left me starved – and for what? 20 lousy credits **if** we 'survive'?'

No one said anything and he took it as a sign to continue his ranting.

'I haven't eaten all day and that incompetent pond was filthy, wish I'd been assigned as guard; anything's better than this.'

'That's the point you idiot, this practical's suppose to be an empathy task; help us understand how the locals on tarsus iv felt and give us skills on survival' snapped Uhura.

'No one asked your opinion' retorted loudmouth.

'Yeah? Well no one asked yours either.'

'I never said my opinion! You want to hear it? I could go on all day!'

'Really? You never said your opinion? Then what's with all the complaining for the last hour! Everyone here's hungry and tired and we can manage to keep our mouth shut!'

Bones unconsciously took a step back as the argument rose turned into a shouting match.

'Both of you shut it! There could be guards nearby for all we know and you two are yelling at the top of your lungs for all of them to hear!' snapped Kirk.

Uhura stopped but continued to glare at loudmouth.

'Who made you Leader? Eh? Says I got to listen to you? I don't think so,' loudmouth spat the words out – literally; Bones could see tiny torpedoes of spittle launching from his mouth.

'Does it matter? It's late and we need to get sleep. Your empty stomach is making you and everyone else cranky.' Jim hissed back.

Loudmouth looked at Kirk for a long while, conflicting emotions visible on his face, then he glared at him and trudged off into the shelter of the trees. Kirk looked at Bones who shrugged and started to walk after loudmouth, after a moment Kirk and everyone else followed too.


	2. Hunger

Kirk woke up early the next morning. In truth he had woken up several times during the night every time an animal had disturbed the campsite but that was a habit that had long since stuck after his time on Tarsus IV. It was a survival instinct he had developed which had alerted him to the presence of guards all those years ago when he was still a kid. Although it made for a light sleep it had been the difference between life and death on countless occasions and hopefully would help him avoid getting stunned during the duration of the assignment. He clawed his way out of the leaf-covered ditch he had slept in and was surprised to see that most of the group – save for loudmouth – were already awake given the extreme early hours of the day they were in.

'Lucky thing he's still asleep, I was ready to dislocate his jaw if he didn't stop whining about his stomach,' Kirk indicated to loudmouth's sleeping form.

The Tellarite moaned and clutched his belly.

'Please don't talk about food,' he groaned, 'I haven't stopped getting hunger pains since last night. No idea how I slept.'

Uhura looked at the Tellarite sympathetically, 'Me too… except that I _didn't_ sleep.'

Kirk noticed that Bones and the Andorian looked as miserable as Uhura and the Tellarite. Truthfully, Kirk had stomach pains as well but compared to his constant starvation on Tarsus IV, they were unnoticeable. Unlike the others, he felt relatively normal but it was clear that if he continued this drastic fast, he would eventually succumb to hunger as they had. On cue, loudmouth woke up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around blearily as the affects of sleep clung to him.

'I'm hungry' he stated.

Bones glared at him.

'_Everyone's_ hungry!'

'Well what are we all sitting around here for then? Didn't any of you think to get food?' loudmouth complained.

Bones simply stared at loudmouth, 'words cannot describe the immense happiness I feel towards your earlier suggestion that none of us share our food.'

Leaning against a tree, Kirk smirked.

Loudmouth fixed his glare on kirk and struggled to get to his feet, his stomach grumbling in protest at the energy consuming action.

'Mock all you want, but I'm going to go out there and steal some food, and not give a _single_ crumb to you!'

Kirk smirked again, 'yeah, we already established that remember?'

If looks could kill, loudmouths could – his face was a mask of absolute rage. Savoring his victory, Kirk smirked again and then shifted his eyes to the rest of the group. He addressed the Tellarite and the Andorian.

'You two both said that you didn't want to share your food – which is fine – but if you change your mind I'm about to go out and see what I can get. I'll share, but everyone needs to chip in and help get the food.'

The Andorian scoffed and wiggled his antenna's, 'I can find food just fine by myself. Don't need no human to burden me.'

He promptly stood up and began to march into the forest, his back ramrod straight and stiff – showing the other cadets his utter independence and implying offence at Kirks offer of help. Kirk shrugged, _his loss_ he thought, with the noise the Andorian was making he was sure to be stunned as soon as he reached 30 metres of a soldier.

The Tellarite hesitated, Kirk could see his confidence in selfishness wavering – he just needed a small push.

'Your reputation won't matter when your stunned and fail the assignment,' Kirk murmured, 'Don't worry about what the other cadets will think, there are strengths in numbers and those who think they're invulnerable always realize that too late.'

The Tellarite wiggled his snout and gave Kirk a half-smile, then nodded his head. Kirk clapped his hands.

'Great! Now, lets go get some food.'

He grinned at Uhura who merely rolled her eyes in reply and stood up off the ground. Bones and the Tellarite followed suit then the trio followed Kirk into the forest.

* * *

Loudmouth watched them go for a moment, and felt a strangely unfamiliar feeling that his 'followers' had abandoned him. Then he shook his head, angry with himself to have allowed that infuriating cadet to bring him so low. Turning in the opposite direction that Kirk had taken, he stumbled off, determined to satisfy the groaning beast that had become of his stomach.

* * *

It was well past midnight when they had finally found a soldier – correction – _soldiers._ They were sleeping under a small copse of trees; a bag of rations, guarded jealously was squashed under the leg of a now sleeping soldier. The other two soldiers were in a similar state to their companion, except for the fact that they had shoved their ration bags underneath their shirts. It was extremely lucky that Kirk had found these three; if it weren't for the incredibly deafening snoring from one of the guards with the swollen belly, he would have simply missed their campsite entirely. Throughout the day he had expected to be attacked at least once by the soldiers, at least, that was how it was when he was on Tarsus IV. You couldn't even move 2 metres out of your hiding spot to take a leak before one of Kodos' soldiers took out their gun and –

Kirk shook his head in frustration and screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears that were threatening to expose themselves. The thought had triggered long since buried memories and he had to wait until his breathing and heart rate had returned to normal before he risked opening his eyelids. Thankfully, they were dry.

Kirk studied the sleeping soldiers for a moment more before squirming back down into the ditch where other three were waiting.

'Well?' Uhura demanded.

'Three soldiers, each have a ration bag, two are impossible to get but we might be able to get the third.'

'What do you want us to do, fight them?' whispered the Tellarite.

'No,' replied Kirk, 'Bones can you paralyze the soldier? Hit a nerve or something? You learn that stuff in med-school right?'

Bones scrunched up his face, Kirk held his breath while Bones thought – it was a tedious request he knew; doctors believed in the healing of patients, not the reaping of bad health.

'Temporarily of course,' he added quickly.

Bones sighed; _the affects of an empty stomach do wonders to a person's rational thinking _thought Kirk. He grinned and jogged Bones with his elbow.

'Knew you'd agree to it.'

Bones glared at Kirk.

'Lets get this over with.'

Kirk turned to the Tellarite.

'If the other two wake up, you and Uhura attack. Ok?'

They both nodded. Kirk acknowledged Bones and gestured him to move up the ditch with him. Sighing, Bones complied. Once over, Kirk pointed to the soldier he wanted incapacitated. Quickly and swiftly, they made their way to the soldier and Bones knelt down next to him. Extending his thumb and index, Bones quickly reached out and pinched a nerve on the soldier's neck who twitched and then fell still. Nodding in confirmation to Kirk, who grabbed the soldier's leg and gingerly raised it to free the ration bag. Then the pair began the journey back to the ditch.

Ironically, it was the hunger they had come here to satisfy that betrayed them.

Metres away from the ditch, Bone's stomach grumbled. Kirk snapped his head around to glare at Bones who mouthed a silent 'sorry' before his eyes grew wide at something behind Kirk. Quickly, Kirk spun around – unfortunately, not quickly enough. He saw a brief flash of movement before a right hook caught him in his face and he fell onto the ground.

'Uhura!' Bones managed to holler before the soldier tackled him to the ground.

Kirk recovered from the brief fuzziness that had clouded his head and swung his leg out in a wide arch, kicking the the second soldier's legs out from under him. He scrambled to feet and heaved his elbow into the soldier's gut, effectively forcing the wind out of him. A final punch to the soldier's face rendered him unconscious.

Panting, Kirk pushed himself up to one knee and twisted around in time to see Uhura deliver a quick head butt to the first soldier who then slumped to the ground.

'Good work guys,' Kirk said.

Uhura nodded and went to collect the other ration bags. Bones grumbled and went to help her, rubbing his wrist he'd hurt during the fight.

'Should we stun them?' Asked the Tellarite, 'should give us 3 less to worry about and we can keep the phasers for protection.'

'Might as well,' Kirk agreed.

'Dammit!' swore Bones, 'Two of the bags are stuffed with leaves and only one of them actually has food in it.'

Kirk shrugged mentally, he'd expected as much. Each bag would have only contained the amount of food an average person would eat for dinner. Not many people would be able to have the self-control to ration out that little food; he was surprised the three cadets hadn't eaten everything already.

'Leave the bags, just take the food and hide it in your pockets, we don't want anyone else to know we have food.'

'Not for long,' Bones said.

Three bursts of blue lit up the campsite temporarily as the Tellarite stunned the three soldiers. A few seconds later their bodies were a swirl of atoms and then disappeared. Kirk noted that the sky had lightened considerably.

'Let's go, we can eat when we've found a safer area,' he declared.

The group set off through the forest again, energy restored with the promise of food.

'There's a rock formation there, looks like it could give us shelter,' Uhura pointed.

Kirk glanced in the direction she had indicated and his eyes dropped to the floor, scanning the undergrowth. He shook his head and pointed to the ground where the grass had been trampled and snapped branches dropped from the trees, hanging on by the barest piece of bark.

'Someone's already gone that way, they broke through the undergrowth.'

Uhura shrugged, 'We better find someplace fast then, my stomach's killing me.'

They soon found a place behind a row of closely grown trees, positioned in a 'C' shape similar to the purpose of a shield. Bones collapsed onto the ground, his back against the tree stump.

'Ok, let's eat,' he announced, grouping his pockets where he had stashed the rations.

Uhura sat down heavily on the ground next to Kirk, her face slightly pale.

'You alright?' Asked Kirk.

'Yeah, just a little hungry,' she smiled in an attempt to reassure him.

Bones finished distributing the food and started attacking his dried beef.

'Whoa! Bones stop! You'll throw it back up if you eat like that!' Kirk reached out and grabbed Bones wrist holding the mauled piece of beef.

The Tellarite hesitated as he heard Kirk's warning and resumed eating at a slower pace than before.

Bones looked suspiciously at Kirk, 'what do you expect? I'm starving!'

'I know, I know, just… don't rush ok? It's not much and it'll be gone faster if you keep eating like that.' Bones rolled his eyes and Kirk slowly let go of his wrist.

Kirk returned to his spot next to Uhura as she finished her food. He tore the stale beef in half and gave her half. She shook her head.

'Kirk you need your strength too,' she protested weakly.

'You need it more than me,' he insisted, 'you look like you'll collapse any second.'

Still she hesitated.

'Uhura take it, I'm fine I can go without food for a while.'

Reluctantly, she took the beef and began to eat it. Kirk tore a small chunk off his and chewed it slowly. The Tellarite looked at Kirk thoughtfully.

'What do you mean you can go without food?' he asked Kirk.

Kirk shrugged, 'I've gone without eating before.'

He didn't clarify and the Tellarite gave up asking him. After their incompetent meal the group fell asleep, however Kirk stayed awake. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes he'd be plagued by old memories.


	3. Suspicion

Late in the afternoon Kirk woke. He was surprised that he'd managed to fall asleep. Luckily he had been too tired to dream that night. Sitting up he slowly stretched his muscles, working to get the blood pumping through his arm and legs. Bones glanced over at Kirk as he shifted himself into a sitting position.

'Last day,' he announced.

Kirk grunted in reply.

The Tellarite stretched, his arms reaching out for the treetops, 'good. The effects of that food are starting to wear off. Don't know if I'll be able to last another day with an empty stomach.'

Uhura made her way over to the trio and sat down on the ground next to the Tellarite.

'How are we suppose to know when this thing is over? The teacher said two nights right?' she asked.

Bones nodded slowly.

'Maybe they'll use the klaxon alarm again' he mused.

'What I don't get, is how come we didn't see a single soldier besides the ones we stunned earlier,' deliberated Kirk, 'It was barely a survival test, more of a fasting-in-the-forest assignment.'

'That's probably it,' Uhura said

Kirk raised his eyebrow at her comment, 'What's probably it?' He asked.

Uhura rolled her eyes at him but she explained her reasoning, 'the cadets who got chosen to be soldiers were only given rations for three days, whereas the soldiers on Tarsus IV had whatever Kodos gave them. It was their job to go out and hunt the locals, but the cadets don't have any incentive. They've probably been sitting around complaining about their stomach's for the last two days.'

_So that was it_ Kirk thought. It was a good thing too, he didn't know if he'd have been able to keep it together if the assignment was anything like his time on Tarsus IV.

'Ah…'

The Tellarite was staring at his arms, as they grew brighter and turned into atoms.

'I guess we've finished our practical,' said Uhura, before she disappeared shortly after the Tellarite.'

* * *

40 minutes later Kirk stood under a showerhead and let the flow of warm water wash away the sweat and dirt that had accumulated. After appearing on a transporter pad he had been instructed towards the academy hall where he had been greeted by his Bones and waited for the rest of the 'survivors' to fill the hall. There had been at least 10 survivors out of the original 30. The teacher had awarded them 20 credits each and Kirk had chucked a smirk towards loudmouth and the Andorian who were standing in the group of 'dead' locals. He felt a surge of satisfaction when loudmouth's face turned a deep shade of purple. But then the teacher had then reminded them all of their next class and Kirk's brief moment of happiness was crushed when she mentioned that they would continue studying Tarsus IV for the next few lessons.

Standing in the shower, Kirk contemplated his next class. He could always study on his padd and try to ignore the lesson; but even with his eyes averted he'd still be able to hear what was going on and he didn't think headphones or earphones would be very subtle. Frustrated, he went to bed.

'Before we start today's class, Starfleet Academy's commandant has asked me to make an announcement,' the teacher announced, 'in accordance with the anniversary of Tarsus IV, one of the survivors will be present to speak to us about his experience tomorrow.'

Immediately the other cadets were alert, leaning over their tables to whisper amongst each other. Kirk looked up from his padd and glanced around the classroom at the other cadets. _A survivor? _He thought to himself, _why the hell would any of us want to reveal ourselves to the public? Worse still, what if he recognizes me?_

The teacher quickly silenced the class. 'That's all I know, you'll have to wait till tomorrow for answers. In the meantime, we're going to watch footage from Tarsus IV and I want you to analyze and compare it to your survival assignment.'

The lights in the classroom automatically dimmed and the footage appeared on the screen at the front of the class. Kirk quickly dropped his head back down to the screen of his padd and propped his head up with his hands, shielding his face with his arms so that no one could see the panicky expression on his face.

* * *

Nyota Uhura sat at the front of the class and grimaced at the morbid scenes that were unfolding on the screen in front of her. She glanced around the classroom to see if anyone else were as appalled as her but they all appeared unconcerned at the footage. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Kirk a few rows behind her, face buried between his hands staring intently at his padd. He had acted unusual during their last assignment – not that she was complaining – normally he would have flirted with her every 5 minutes and act irrationally, probably causing their group to be caught within the first hour. However he had apparently matured – making coherent decisions and even worrying for her health after they had stolen the rations. Either something drastic had happened or there was something he wasn't telling her. Mentally shrugging, she pushed her curiosity aside and turned back to the screen.

_Child soldiers ran amok. Following the orders of Kodos, they shot any survivor that moved. One of the soldiers – a boy with jet-black hair – wandered away from the others. Apparently he heard a noise for he whipped his head around, scanning the undergrowth to his left. Like his hair, his eyes were incredibly dark and cold, hardened by what they had seen. Suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed the shirt of a small boy hiding in a bush. The child screamed for help, thrashing against the soldier until he managed to get free, and ran towards the cover of a copse of trees. No sooner had the soldier lost his grip; he shrugged his gun free, raised it, aimed and shot. The fleeing child slumped to the ground. Then a screaming form rammed into the soldier's side, pushing him to the ground. Another child most likely avenging the death of his friend pummeled the soldier with his fists. Shouts came from off-screen and the child hesitated momentarily before sprinting back into the undergrowth. His mop of blonde hair lost amongst the green. Two more soldiers ran in from the side of the screen. _

'_42! What d'ya think you were doing? You should have shot him before he got onto you!' _

The sound quality was horrible and Uhura had a hard time deciphering the dialogue. Two rows behind her, Kirk stiffened in his seat. _42… Mitchell…_He glared at his padd and fought to control the rage that was threatening to burst from him.

'_He got me by surprised,' 42 growled, 'I only just got rid of another one and then he came at me!' _

Kirk clenched his fists and concentrated on his breathing.

Uhura watched, as the footage grew more violent. When the Starfleet ships finally arrived she allowed herself to relax in her seat.

_The Starfleet officers divided themselves into small scouting groups. They broke down doors and raided building after building, hoping to find any survivors. The scene shifted to a makeshift camp. A boy hid behind an officer's leg as he was brought into a medical tent. Whiplashes scarred his back and a knife cut ran down the length of his hand. _

Uhura leaned slightly forward in her seat, that boy looked awfully familiar she thought. Then she realized – it was the same boy that had attacked the child soldier earlier – same unruly blonde hair and his eyes… Uhura scrutinized; she had seen those same eyes before, they were incredibly blue… She twisted around in her seat and her eyes came to rest on Kirk. She peeled her eyes through the dimness of the room and made out his hand, still fisted at the side of his head. She swore she could almost see the silver line of a scar running down the back of his hand…

The screen disappeared, indicating the end of the footage and Uhura quickly turned to the front of the classroom as lights lit up the room. Around her, students groaned and squinted their eyes against the sharp light as they waited for their eyes to readjust.

Kirk unclenched his fists and wiped his sweaty palms against his uniform. He put his padd to sleep and cautiously looked up from desk. Once satisfied that the footage had ended, he breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to relax in his seat. _That wasn't so bad _he told himself. Yet deep down he couldn't push away his memories of Mitchell from his head. Mitchell had been the worst of Kodos soldiers. Relentlessly, he had hunted and even killed three of Kirk's boys. Kirk had tried to take revenge for his friends on multiple occasions but those damn soldiers always got in the way and he'd been forced to flee to avoid the same fate as his friends. The sound of chairs scraping pulled him back to the present and he quickly gathered his stuff before hurrying to catch up to Bones.


	4. Fight

**Regarding a guest review; the character **_**Mitchell**_**, included in chapter 3 is not the Star Trek character known as **_**Gary Mitchell**_**. Mitchell is a character from the novel '**_**Collision Course (Star Trek: Academy)'**_** written by **_**William Shatner**_**.**

15 minutes.

That's how long it took Kirk to maneuver through the crowd of people in the cafeteria, get his food, keep that food without dropping it and then shoving his way through the crowd again to squeeze himself into the seat next to Bones.

'I swear, getting food is like trying to make a Vulcan laugh,' Kirk told Bones.

'Yeah, well, everyone does tend to get hungry around lunchtime and some of us are half starved after the yesterdays practical,' Bones responded.

Kirk grunted in reply, his mouth half full with pasta. He glanced over at Bones plate and wrinkled his nose in distaste at the bowl of plomeek soup.

'Seriously? How are you eating that stuff? It's so bland and it's meant to be for breakfast, not lunch.'

'I'm hungry,' retorted Bones, ', I just took the first thing I saw. At this stage I really don't care what I put into my stomach.'

'Which happens to be a soup… and a sem'hal stew,' added Kirk as Bones finished the soup and began attacking the stew. 'Seriously, if you're hungry get something _solid_ to eat.'

Bones just shrugged and continued his slurping.

'Anyone sitting here?' Uhura indicated to the two spare chairs on their table.

'Nope,' Bones managed before returning to his eating.

Kirk swept his hand in a _go ahead_ gesture. Uhura sat down in the seat opposite Kirk and Galia took the one next to her.

'Hey Kirk,' Galia smiled at him and Kirk returned the expression.

Galia turned to Bones and hesitated as she watched him eat the alien food. Kirk saw Galia's incredulous expression and waved in Bones direction.

'Don't mind him, he's trying to catch up on his carbs.'

Galia nodded slowly, her gaze transfixed on Bones bizarre eating strategies. Uhura took a moment to watch Bones too before she turned back to Kirk.

'Is that a scar?' she pointed at Kirk's hand, 'never knew you had that, how'd you get it?' She said, keeping her voice casual.

Kirk glanced down at his hand with apparent disinterest.

'Oh that? I've had it since I was a kid, think I split it on a rock when I fell off a tree.'

Uhura regarded Kirk for a few more seconds before leaning back in her chair and eating her chicken wrap. _Well, he got it when he was a kid, that's saying something I guess_ she pondered.

Bones finished his stew. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and sighed with appreciation.

'Yum?' Inquired Kirk, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Bones missed the hint, 'Of course, why else would I have eaten it?' he asked.

Kirk looked at Bones, 'It's times like these when I understand how your ex-wife felt.'

Bones huffed at him and angled his body away from Kirk to use his padd.

'So did you hear about that speaker that's suppose to come tomorrow?' Gossiped Galia.

Immediately Kirk went on high alert. He had to be careful about the way he conveyed himself through his body actions and resolved to stay quiet. Shifting himself in his seat, he positioned himself in a more casual arrangement.

'Yeah, though I don't think it's true. Probably a fraud looking to scab off Starfleet,' Uhura said.

It was true, thought Kirk – Starfleet had been ridiculously infamous after the public found out that the incident on Tarsus IV had gone on for years unchecked. After all, it was suppose to be Starfleet's job to prevent such an event from occurring and it was reasonable to assume that they had simply accepted this 'survivor', sans questions. Kirk breathed out silently in relief – chances were, it was fraud looking to take advantage of Starfleet's ego.

'That _would_ explain why the media isn't invading the academy,' mused Galia.

Her face morphed from thoughtful, to devious.

'How much do you reckon I'll get if I leak the word? Do you think they'll let me be on the news?' She asked Uhura.

Uhura rolled her eyes at her friend's narcissism.

'Probably not, news spreads fast and leaks out by itself without anyone having to hand over their credits. I'm wouldn't be surprised if it already has,' she replied.

Galia pouted before straightening and grinning at Uhura, 'ah well, it was a long shot anyway.'

At that moment, Bones decided that he'd forgiven Kirk and turned in his seat to face him.

'You still up for this afternoon?' he asked.

'What?' Kirk said distractedly, his mind was still on the girls' conversation.

'The Physics test this week' Bones reminded him, 'we're suppose to meet at the library to study with Sulu and the other guys, remember?'

'Oh yeah,' muttered Kirk.

He went to get his padd but then remembered he'd left it at his dorm.

'Meet you there?' Kirk asked, 'I left my padd in my room.'

Bones nodded his consent as he collected his empty tray and pushed his chair back under the table.

'Goodbye ladies,' he tilted his head in Uhura and Galia's direction before heading towards the bathroom to relieve himself.

Kirk waved goodbye as well, and dumped his rubbish in a nearby bin before making his way out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Kirk breathed in the fresh air as he left the cafeteria - stuffy with the body heat of numerous humans and aliens. Walking along the path that took him to his dorm, he rounded a corner and was surprised by the sudden appearance of loudmouth and the two thugs he called 'friends'. _More likely they're hunks of meat with pea sized brains that loudmouth talked into being his personal bodyguards_ thought Kirk. Loudmouth narrowed his eyes when he spotted Kirk.

'You! Your the know-it-all cadet who made me fail that assignment!'

Kirk frowned at him.

'You did that to yourself. Whining like a 2 year old just cause you were a little hungry.'

'You better shut your mouth cadet,' loudmouth warned, 'even someone as stupid as you can count – It's three against one and you're badly outnumbered.'

Kirk had, had enough of this guy. He'd been in is fair share of bar fights – even if some of them hadn't ended exactly as he had planned – he was reasonably sure he could handle loudmouth. The two thugs on the other hand… what the heck, he'd fought multiple guys before.

Yelling his battle cry, he ran towards loudmouth and his overgrown cohorts.

Bones flushed the toilet paper down the loo as he zipped up his fly and stepped into the sensor, which automatically opened the cubicle door to the rest of the bathroom.

Kirk ducked as thug one swung a clumsy fist where his head had been only moments ago. He pivoted on his heel and swung his elbow around, allowing the momentum of the spin to compensate for the size of his opponent. Normally, his elbow would have struck into thug one's cheek bone and send him in a crash course towards the ground. However, Kirk had neglected to take in the size and height of thug one and his elbow – instead of serving its usual purpose – smashed against the back of thug one's shoulder blade, forcing his arm forward and out of it's socket. _Interesting_ thought Kirk as thug one fell to his knees, wailing and clutching his injured shoulder. Amateurs usually gave up on a fight as soon as they were injured in the slightest instance. Accustomed to his opponents yielding beneath his massive size and strength, he had grown overconfident and underestimated anyone short of his size.

Bones pushed his head underneath the bathroom tap and water immediately gushed out, washing away the countless amount of germs that had been multiplying on his hands.

Kirk's head snapped back as thug two's fist struck him underneath his chin. He staggered backwards to give himself room as he waited for the sharp pain to dissipate. He lurched to one side to avoid thug two's second punch and kicked out with his foot, aiming for the kneecap that would disable his adversary. Before his foot could find its mark, thug two grabbed Kirk's foot and pulled it past his waist. Thrown off balance, Kirk followed his foot past thug two's waist and onto the ground.

Bones ran his hands through the dryer. He stepped into the proximity of the sensor and the bathroom door swung outwards.

Winded, Kirk lay on his stomach, gasping for a breath. He felt a curiously uncomfortable tightening sensation around his neck as thug two grabbed his collar and pulled Kirk up onto his feet. Then he punched him in the face, releasing his grip at the same time so that Kirk flew backwards and back onto the ground. Blood ran into his mouth from his nose. _This is more like it_ thought Kirk as he rolled over onto his belly and pushed himself up onto his feet.

Bones exited the cafeteria and followed a pathway that would lead him to the library. Incidentally, it was the same one that led to the cadet's dormitories.

Kirk rammed himself, shoulder first into thug two. Unfortunately thug two was even heavier than he imagined and his tackle was as good as pushing against a tree trunk. A flash of exasperation crossed Kirk's face before a fist shoved itself into Kirk's ribs with more force than he could ever imagine. _It's like fighting a baby hippo_ thought Kirk as he heard a sharp crack that confirmed the fate of his ribs. He reached up with his fist to squash thug two's face and his ribs protested with the movement. His pain was soon rewarded when thug two gave a muffle cry as his fist found its target.

Bones was mentally revising the numerous laws he had to memorize for his physics exam when he rounded the corner and froze in his tracks. 5 metres away Kirk and an oversized cadet were grappling with each other while a second, similarly built cadet was crouching on the ground, crying and clutching his dislocated shoulder.

'Stop! What the hell do you think you two are doing?' he yelled.

Thug two turned around at the sound of Bones voice, his face betraying the fear he felt at being caught. Bones stormed over to them and stabbed his finger at Kirk.

'Dammit Kirk what's wrong with you! Can't you go even a week without a fight?' Bones accused him.

Kirk struggled to stand up straight, his hand wrapped around his torso.

'I didn't even start it! That insufferable cadet we ditched in the forest threatened me with these two airheads – I didn't have a choice!'

'Like hell you didn't!' Bones shouted irrationally.

He grouped his side for his communicator but it wasn't there.

'Dammit!' he swore

_Must have left it in the cafeteria_ he thought.

'Wow… what happened here?'

A cadet slowed his pace as he walked around the corner.

'Chekov!' Bones called, 'Do you have your communicator with you? I need to call the medical clinic to transport these _children_. Doesn't look like he'll be walking anytime soon,' Bones jerked a thumb at the whimpering cadet still cradling his dislocated shoulder.

'Yes, yes – I can do that,' Chekov bobbed his head up and down so vigorously Bones was afraid it might fall off.

Walking over, Chekov handed his communicator to Bones. Within minutes, Kirk and the two thugs had been transported to the med bay. Bones nodded his thanks as he handed the communicator back to Chekov and ran off towards the academy's medical clinic.


	5. Scars

Bones stormed into the medical clinic, his face the colour of a tomato. His eyes searched the room and settled on a computer behind the reception desk. He walked behind the counter and reassured the nurse at the desk.

'Starfleet Cadet – Doctor McCoy,' he flashed his I.D at her, 'I need to use the computer to find a patient.'

The nurse nodded and resumed her place behind the counter.

'Computer, where is cadet Jim Kirk?' he demanded.

'Room 27,' the computer told him.

Scowling, Bones walked out from behind the counter and made his way down the corridor.

Kirk was running around room 27, ducking and using his arms to fend off an impending hypospray.

'No, no, no! I already told the other nurse! I'm allergic to that stuff!'

The exasperated nurse stopped her attempts at injecting the elusive patient. She had long since forgotten the flirtatious comments he'd paid her when she had first entered the room and was on the verge of calling for backup.

That was the exact moment Bones chose to enter the room.

Bursting through the doors he opened his mouth, ready to release the lecture that he had been rehearsing on his way to the clinic. He froze – his mouth agape – as he saw Kirk squeezed in a corner, the nurse holding a hypospray in her raised arm, ready to strike at a moments notice.

'Nurse Holland! … What… exactly are you trying to accomplish?'

The nurse quickly lowered her arm from the threatening position and appeared embarrassed by Bones appearance.

'I'm terribly sorry Doctor, but this patient is being _extremely_ un-cooperative. He's been refusing to take his anesthetic – I can't repair his ribs if he doesn't comply.'

'I told her I was allergic but she just kept coming at me!' Kirk protested.

Bones regarded him dryly, 'since when has that ever been a problem for you? As I recall, it's usually the other way around when it comes to you and women.'

Kirk hesitated, composing a comeback and Bones took advantage of the silence to address nurse Holland.

'He's telling the truth; Kirk is allergic to everything and anything. As he attending physician I know which medications he is allowed to use.'

The nurse flushed, 'Oh… I'm sorry doctor I wasn't aware.'

She quickly left the room. _Probably gone to find another patient to harass _thought Kirk.

'Up,' Bones commanded Kirk, pointing at the sterilized bed in the middle of the room.

Reluctantly, Kirk complied. Bones got out his tricorder and quickly scanned Kirk.

'Two broken ribs, a broken nose and a couple of cuts and bruises you can live with.'

Bones took out his medical equipment as he delivered the verdict. Kirk was familiar with them all; he'd had similar injuries on countless occasions. He lifted his shirt up so that Bones could fix his ribs.

'So the truth,' Bones said as he worked on Kirk's ribs, 'you really think that cadet is to blame?'

'Yes – Ow!' Kirk winced as he rib returned to its natural shape; being allergic to everything had its downsides sometimes.

'Then who started the fight?' asked Bones, starting on the second rib.

'He… uh… actually I did,' Kirk reluctantly admitted.

'Oh so he _wasn't_ to blame then?' Bones ceased his work to look at Kirk in mock surprise.

'I never would have started the fight if he hadn't provoked me,' Kirk protested.

Bones raised his eyebrow. Kirk sighed; he didn't buy it.

'Whatever, can you just get me fixed so I get out of here?' Kirk said.

Bones pushed Kirk's rib back in place just as the door opened and Uhura walked in. Kirk and Bones spun around at the sound. Hastily, Kirk pulled his shirt down.

Uhura gasped, 'Kirk! what's on your back?'

Kirk slid of the bed and stood next to Bones.

'Nothing…' he lied, 'just getting my ribs fixed.'

Uhura stared, 'and what happened to you _face_?'

'Noth – Ow! Give me a warning at least!' he complained.

Bones shrugged and put away the instrument he had just used to repair Kirk's nose.

'Go get cleaned up, you've got dried blood all over the bottom half of your face,' Bones instructed, 'you look like a bloody cannibal.'

Kirk glowered at Bones as he left for the bathroom. Uhura stared after him.

'So what brings you here Uhura?' asked Bones, alerting her to the matter at hand, 'need a doctor do you?'

Uhura looked at Bones with a blank expression, then she blinked and clarity filled her face.

'Huh? Oh. Yes, I mean no. I mean… sorry, I was thinking about something else.'

Uhura offered Bones what she was holding in her hand.

'You left your communicator at the table back in the cafeteria. I got a computer to find you for me.'

Bones face brightened.

'You found it! Thanks I was wondering if I'd ever be able to find it in that madhouse.'

He reclaimed his communicator and busied himself attaching it to his belt. Uhura furrowed her brow as she thought about what she had seen when she'd walked into the room. Bones had been fixing Kirk's ribs and his back had been exposed to the door when she'd walked in. He'd pulled his shirt down before she could get a proper look but she was almost certain she'd seen scars covering his back. Uhura doubted Kirk would answer the questions that were nagging her, but the doctor was another matter… of all the cadets, Bones was the person most likely to know how Kirk had gotten those scars.

'So…' Uhura began, unsure of how to ask her question.

'Hmm?' Bones mumbled absentmindedly.

_Screw it_ thought Uhura, _Kirk is going to come back from the bathroom any minute now_. She decided to go for it.

'I… saw the scars on his back,' she said softly.

Bones looked up sharply.

'You mean Kirk?' he said, frowning slightly.

_Not a good sign_ Uhura thought. She nodded. Bones considered her statement.

'It's nothing for you to worry about,' he finally said, 'I found at when he first came to the academy – all new cadets have to go through a full health check up you know? He wouldn't say anything about it but I do know that his step-father wasn't always too kind towards him.'

He turned away from her to re-sterilize the bed Kirk had been sitting on.

'It doesn't affect his health, nothing too serious' he assured her.

Now it was Uhura's turn to frown.

'Well, ok... it's just that they looked a lot like…you know,' she gestured with her hands.

_Whip lashes_ she thought. She could picture the small boy from the footage in-class – albeit his back had been opened and unhealed. Bones turned around and sighed.

'I know. But if they are, I wouldn't want to go and ask Kirk how he got them if I were you,' he looked at her meaningfully.

She stayed where she was and nodded slowly. He cocked his head slightly when she failed to say anything more.

'Was there anything else you wanted…?' he queried.

Uhura forced herself to smile.

'No… no, I'm good.'

Bones nodded, 'good,' he agreed, 'cause I should go soon – have to apologize to the Sulu. He's probably still at the library, wondering why Kirk and I didn't show up.'

The doors opened as Kirk walked in, looking decidedly less cannibalistic than he had 5 minutes ago. He saw Uhura and looked curiously at Bones.

'She came to return my communicator,' Bones told him.

'Oh.'

'Get into another fight did you Kirk?' Uhura teased, hoping to change the subject.

Kirk rolled his eyes.

'You remember that kid we ditched when we were in the forest?' he asked, 'the one that wouldn't shut up about his stomach?'

'Hendorff?' she guessed.

'Hen– who?' Kirk asked.

'G.P. Hendorff,' Uhura repeated, 'that's his name – the guy you refused to share your food with,' she clarified

Kirk nodded 'that's the one. Never got his name. Well, I ran into him after lunch and he got all arrogant and–'

'And then Kirk attacked his two bulldogs,' Bones summed up.

'After he provoked me,' Kirk reminded him.

'Bulldogs?' Uhura questioned.

'These Two overweight guys who follow him around like puppy dogs,' Kirk explained, waving his hands around in an attempt to illustrate his answer.

Bones glanced down at his padd.

'Ok story-time is over, I've got to get back to the library,' he announced before half walking, half running out of the room.

Uhura stood awkwardly as Bones left her alone in the room with Kirk.

'I don't know about you but I'm starved,' announced Kirk, 'I'm going to the cafeteria to get dinner, you can come if you want,' he told her.

'I'm not hungry,' Uhura said.

Kirk shrugged and walked out of the room, setting a course towards the cafeteria. Uhura stood in the room for a few seconds before deciding to head for her dorm.

**In reply to a reviewer (as they have disabled Private Messaging) - Apologies if I have offended you in anyway by writing fanfic that doesn't go in accordance with your beliefs on nursing ethics. I understand that it would be highly unlikely for a nurse to administer meds to an unwilling patient - even in the future. I only intended to add some humour into my story and in no way meant to upset you. After all, this is fanfic and therefore entirely imaginative and fictitious - you don't have to believe my story or thinking in any way if you choose not to.**


	6. Soldier 42

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Beep! Be–!

Kirk's hand slammed down on his alarm.

Sluggishly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and immediately dropped back down. Kirk groaned; he had a splitting headache. Rubbing his eyes clear of grit, he tried to recall the events of last night. He remembered leaving the med clinic and telling Uhura that he was going to get dinner. That much was more or less true… except that when Kirk said dinner, he meant liquor. _Today is the day_ he thought, the day that so called survivor was meant to speak. _Or maybe they aren't a fraud. What if they really were on Tarsus?_ He deliberated; _better stay low– just in case._

More carefully this time, he tested his head and pushed up off the bed. He sat there for a few minutes until the pounding in his head lessened to a more tolerable level. Then he swung his legs over the side and cautiously walked to the bathroom. He splashed water against his face, washing away the remnants of sleep and rinsed his mouth. Finally fully awake he pulled on his cadet uniform and stumbled out the door. Maneuvering in a slight zigzag as he walked down the hallway towards the stairs that would take him to the med-bay. Hopefully, it would be relatively deserted and easy for him to snitch a hangover hypospray. Ironically, it was the very device he loathed that would give him a respite from the pain.

Half an hour later, Kirk was attempting to squeeze himself through an incredibly tight window he'd found in the storage room. Why anyone would make a window so small was beyond him. But if he ever met the idiot who did, he'd make them steal a hypospray and then escape the clinic he got it from through a window in the storage room. Grunting, Kirk managed to wrench his hips through the tiny crevice. But with nothing supporting his legs, the weight displacement was far to great for gravity and it let him fall face first into the dirt.

* * *

He found Bones at the back of the cafeteria, his padd propped up against a small mountain of books.

'What're you reading?' Asked Kirk as he slid into the seat next to his friend.

Bones didn't reply. He was staring intently at his padd holding a piece of toast, which had stopped its ascent halfway to his mouth. Kirk cleared his throat and glanced sideways at Bones, still no response. Kirk waved a hand in front of Bones' face.

'Hellooo! Earth to Bones!' he exclaimed.

Bones looked confusedly at Kirk.

'Huh? Oh. Hey,' he said before turning back to his padd.

Kirk sighed and took the liberty of leaning sideways and looking at the screen. Bones had a Physics textbook open on his padd. Kirk groaned inwardly, he'd completely forgot about the exam after his run-in with loudmouth and his bulldogs. He wondered where that ignorant cadet was. _Coward_ he thought _ran off and let your bullies fight for you eh?_ Following Bones example, he opened his physics textbook to page one and started reading – occasionally spooning cereal into his mouth.

* * *

'Well that went well,' said Kirk sarcastically.

Bones, as always, completely missed his tone.

'Yeah, it was easier than I thought it'd be,' he replied cheerily.

_Way to make someone feel even worse_ thought Kirk. Hopefully, 10 minutes of studying in an extremely noisy cafeteria would be enough to help him pass the test.

*Beep-beep-beep-beep*

Bones flipped open his communicator and listened through his earpiece. He sighed in exasperation.

'Medical Emergency?' queried Kirk.

Bones nodded, snapping shut his communicator.

'Some Denobulan thought his friends were too stressed out about their exams and spiked their food with a hallucinogen. You know how they think – hallucinating is supposed to 'release nervous energy' *scoff* yeah buddy, just not on earth and not on humans,' Bones rebuked an imaginary alien.

'See you at lunch then,' Kirk told Bones who nodded and ran off towards the academy's medical clinic.

As Kirk turned into the next corridor, he took out his padd and opened up his timetable; his next class was 'advanced hand-to-hand combat'. Looking up, Kirk stopped in tracks. His eyes locked onto a teenage boy who was turned away from him and surrounded by Starfleet personnel. He tried to tear his gaze from the figure but for some reason his head wouldn't do what his brain wanted. _Stop it Kirk!_ He mentally reprimanded himself _People are going to think you've got a mental issue if you don't stop staring_. Kirk couldn't seem to shake the feeling that he knew the guy. Then it hit him – _This must be the other survivor_ thought Kirk. _Why else would he be drowning in Starfleet security?_ If Kirk thought the teenager looked familiar then there was no way he was a fraud, which meant he was absolutely capable of recognizing Kirk as another Tarsus IV survivor. Quickly, Kirk went to duck into the side corridor but before he could, the teenager turned around and looked at Kirk straight in the eyes.

* * *

Uhura walked out of her Xenolinguistics class, frowning slightly as she came close to colliding into a cadet standing outside the entrance of the classroom.

'Excuse me,' she said stiffly.

When the cadet didn't move she scowled and squeezed sideways through the small space between the cadet and the doorframe. When she emerged on the other side she saw the reason behind the hold-up. It looked as if half the first-year cadets were present in the cramped corridor. Most of them had their necks craned towards something outside the Anthropology classroom. _Or someone_ thought Uhura, remembering her teacher's announcement in-class yesterday. Forcing her way through the sea of students, she finally spotted a small battalion of Starfleet Security Officers. Looking closely, she could see the individual they were escorting. He had obsidian coloured eyes and hair to match them. He was dressed similarly – in dark, drably clothing. His eyes were piercing and caused anyone he looked at to quickly avert their eyes. _Strange_ mused Uhura, _you would think that a traumatized teenager would act a little more secluded._ She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully; there was something very familiar about the individual that she couldn't quite grasp. Then her mind wandered back to a video she had seen in class the other day… _One of the soldiers… a boy with jet-black hair… his eyes were incredibly dark and cold, hardened by what they had seen... 42… _Her eyes widened – could it be, that not _all_ the survivors from the Tarsus IV massacre were innocent? After all, with Kodos using children as soldiers it would be easy to mistake one of them for a victim.

The teenager suddenly wheeled around at something that had caught his attention_… Apparently he heard a noise for he whipped his head around, scanning the undergrowth to his left… _A look of confusion overcame his face before it morphed into shock and surprise, mingled with recognition. Briefly, his eyes betrayed his true emotions as they reflected fear – before that fear turned into panic.

Uhura followed the path of his gaze, trying to see what had caused all that emotion on his face when her eyes finally settled on Kirk. His face looked fearful at being spotted and then recognition flashed briefly on his face before it clouded over with anger. His eyes were murderous.

It was at that moment that the predicament revealed itself to her with such burning clarity that she scolded herself for not seeing it earlier.

Then all hell broke loose.

Kirk elbowed his way through the crowd, no longer caring that the memories he had buried long ago were gushing out– filling him with hatred and fear and determination; all mixed up into one deadly Molotov cocktail. And when Kirk wanted to get drunk, he could get pretty damn drunk…_ The child screamed for help, thrashing against the soldier until he managed to get free… _Mitchell unconsciously took a step back from Kirk's rapidly approaching figure… _he shrugged his gun free, raised it, aimed and shot… _Kirk shoved a protesting security officer to the side…_ The fleeing child slumped to the ground… _And let out 4 years worth of anger in a single act of revenge.

Yelling, he tackled Mitchell to the floor_… A screaming form rammed into the soldier's side, pushing him to the ground…_ His buried memories that had been pouring out of him now exploded from within as he used all the years of grueling 'advanced hand-to-hand combat' to his advantage. Grabbing hold of Mitchell's neck he squeezed with everything he had. But the face that looked back of him was an expression he had seen so many times. In his friends – in his boys… right before Mitchell and his kind shot them dead. Shocked, Kirk's loosened his vice like grip around Mitchell's. Overcoming their initial shock, the Starfleet security officers hastily pulled the pair apart. Kirk screamed at the top of his lungs.

'Murderer! I'm going to kill you for what you did to them!'

The head of Starfleet security barged his way through the crowd. He paused to take in the current dilemma and quickly came to a decision.

'Cadet!' He roared, 'cease your actions immediately!'

Kirk ignored the head of Starfleet security and tried to claw his way out of the two men who were doing their best to restrain him.

'You don't deserve to live! You hear me? You should have stayed on Tarsus!' he screamed.

The Starfleet academy commandant entered the hall and walked through a path split by the cadets whom had come to attention at his presence. Once through, the cadets dropped their salutes and hurriedly surged inwards to get as close to the scene as possible.

'Cadet Kirk!' he said sharply, 'this citizen is an honored guest of Starfleet academy and currently under the protection of Starfleet security. Death threats towards him would be unwise.'

Kirk managed to free his arm and stab an accusing finger at the partly obscured figure hiding behind Starfleet security officers.

'That _citizen_ is a mass murderer that I watched kill innocent men, women and children! It's a cruel insult towards the families of those from the Tarsus IV massacre to let him to live as a free man,' he snarled, his voice dripping with malice.

The cadets around Uhura began gossiping amongst each other and throwing confused expressions at the scene unfolding in front of her. _What's so bad about the survivor? Why is Kirk acting so upset? Did he know someone from the Tarsus IV massacre? _They whispered.

The teenager's eyes widened at Kirk's accusation and his speech was jumbled by his panic.

'I-I've never done that! He's lying! His voice rose in pitch at every world he blurted out, 'I don't know what he's talking about!'

'Shut up!' yelled Kirk. 'I don't want to hear another dirty little lie from your mouth!'

Every muscle in Kirk's body was coiled, ready to pounce as soon as he got his chance. His whole body trembled with anger and his fists were violently shaking.

*Beep-beep-beep-beep*

Everyone fell silent as the commandant took out his communicator and listened to the caller from an earpiece. His face remained completely deadpan throughout the conversation and he remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

'Yes admiral,' he said, 'I understand.'

He snapped his communicator shut and turned to the head of Starfleet security.

'Please escort our guest and cadet Kirk to the nearest Starfleet security building,' he ordered before pivoting on his heel and walking briskly down the hallway.

Baffled, the officer nodded and indicated his men to follow the commandant's instructions. Uhura watched as they dragged away the screaming and thrashing form of Kirk, followed by a sobbing boy whose sins had finally caught up with him.


	7. Sunset, Moonrise

At 0500 the following morning, Starfleet Academy received the news that cadet Jim Kirk and yesterdays mysterious visitor had been confirmed as two of the Tarsus nine. Earth's media were ecstatic when word leaked out – no one knew by whom, but then again no one ever does – that one of Kodos' child soldiers had been wrongly mistaken as one of his victims.

* * *

A solitary figure collapsed into a seat at a relatively deserted cafe. Every few seconds he would whip his head around and check his rear for signs of danger, so far there had been none. The boy had recently run away from his foster home with no intention of returning. He was exhausted from the constant running and hiding, but if it meant he was free then he would happily endure it. His eyes began to droop as the effects of fatigue began to kick in and his head slowly made it's decent towards the table.

_In national and planetary news, the identities of two survivors from the Tarsus IV massacre were uncovered yesterday afternoon at the galaxy-renowned Starfleet Academy. One of them was discovered to have been a child mercenary working for Kodos throughout his duration as a tyrant. His name is being kept classified by Starfleet security and at the present time, only a handful have been given access to this information. _

The boy eyes snapped open and he turned his head towards the source of the news report.

_The second survivor is Jim Kirk whom of yesterday attended Starfleet Academy. Jim Kirk is the son of Starfleet Officer George Kirk, who is renowned for sacrificing his life and saving over 800 people in the process. __The anonymous survivor was escorted from Starfleet Security early this morning and will stand trial for his crimes later in the week..._

A photo of Jim Kirk replaced the reporter's face – although his voice continued to tell the news – and the small boy squinted at the screen. He scrutinized the piercing blue eyes, seeming to search for a memory forgotten long ago. His lips parted slightly and his eyes bulged from their sockets. He stood abruptly, upsetting the chair he had been sitting on and ran out of the cafe.

* * *

Kirk sat alone on the apex of a hill, completely ignoring the sun that had begun to set behind him. He was mentally exhausted from all the interrogation that had resurfaced his traumatic memories. In the end though, all that really mattered was that Mitchell had been rightly condemned for the acts of atrocity he had committed as a child.

He glanced behind him as the burning sensation of the sun on his back was dispelled by a shadow. A boy stood close-by, his face solemn as he stared straight ahead. His face looked 12 years old but his eyes were older then anyone Kirk knew. Rather than leave for a more solitary area, Kirk stayed where he was. The stranger seemed to remind him of a long forgotten friend and he didn't bombard Kirk with questions like his previous visitors.

'I've never understood why people insist on watching the sun sink below the horizon,' he commented, 'it's so much more breathtaking to watch the moon rise into existence.'

_Strange thing for a boy to say_ thought Kirk, although he shared the stranger's opinion. None of them moved from their positions atop the hill.

'When I was a child, I had a friend I looked up to. I loved him like a brother and he cared for me like a father,' said the boy.

As miserable as he was, Kirk felt the need to reply so as not to appear rude.

'Where is your friend now?' he asked, making a pretense of interest when in fact he no longer cared about anything anymore.

'Last I heard he migrated to Earth,' the stranger mused, 'but he never left my heart. He was the most selfless human being I've ever known. Saved my soul and saved my life - I wish I could have told him that,' he finished sadly.

Kirk stayed silent, unsure of what to say and saddened by the boy's heartfelt words.

'J.T,' the stranger said softly.

Kirk froze. He stared fiercely at the horizon, filled with sorrow and an overwhelming urge to cry at hearing the name he had used on Tarsus IV. The boy moved forward and slowly sat on the grass beside Kirk. He continued to stare into the horizon as the pair sat in silence. Kirk frowned slightly as he tried to remember the faces of his boys.

'Kevin?' he guessed.

Kevin Riley nodded.

'You've grown so much,' Kirk murmured.

A small smile lit up Kevin's features.

'Yes, I've been eating a great deal more than what I did back when we were kids,' he joked.

In spite of himself Kirk laughed – laughed at the absurdity of the last 24 hours and laughed from the happiness at finding a long lost friend. He laughed until the tears began to flow and then he was sobbing. Crying for the friends he had lost on that terrible planet, crying the tears he had never allowed himself to shed since. He felt Kevin embrace him and he hugged his friend until the tears stopped flowing.

'I meant what I said earlier,' Kevin told him, 'every single word.'

Kirk smiled at his friend. They were temporarily thrown into darkness as the sun finally set and the pair fell silent as they watched the moon rise into existence.

**Sorry It's not that long, but hey - less is more right?... or the other way around, I can't remember.**

** Still deciding whether or not to add another chapter - This chapter sounds unfinished but I'm not sure what I'd write about if I do make another chapter. I was thinking about writing what happens to Kirk when he returns to Starfleet Academy but I'm not sure if someone would want to do that if they're as distraught as Kirk. Should I or should I not?Suggestions?**


	8. Captain

**Thankyou for the reviews! I'll do my best to add all your suggestions into the next chapter/chapters. Apologies in advance; I have a couple of really big tests coming up that I need to study for, so the chapters probably won't be uploaded daily like they normally are - hopefully I'll be able to upload them every few days.**

Leonard 'Bones' McCoy slumped miserably in his seat as his instructor droned perpetually about the different types of Alien life forms originating from the Beta quadrant. His Exobiology class normally didn't have this effect on his mood but Bones was still recovering from a recent ordeal. He had felt immensely guilty and shocked when the news of the hallway incident reached his ears. Guilty because he hadn't been there for his friend and shocked that Kirk was one of the traumatized kids from Tarsus IV. Sure, he could have his glum moments but Kirk was normally a cheerful person – if not excessively. For the past few days Bones had been getting somewhat unsubtle stares from the other cadets and could inadvertently silence his peers whenever he got within 5 metres. After the media had broadcasted Kirk's past on every padd and screen, word had spread like wildfire that cadet McCoy was the alleged friend of cadet Kirk – hence his current privacy status. And so, a mix of conflicting emotions; he had dragged himself through class after class without anyone to confide in. Naturally, the whole academy had thought that Bones – being Kirk's friend and physician – had known about his history the entire time and so came to the conclusion that they should tread lightly around cadet McCoy. It was ridiculous; the gossip that people would spread – exaggerated to eventually make out Bones to be an accomplice in some unexplained atrocity Kirk had committed by concealing a secret that was rightfully his. There were a few that had grown warmer to Bones after hearing the news, but they were all individuals who had lost loved ones on Tarsus IV and Bones knew they weren't kind for his friendship – only for the hypothetical knowledge that Kirk had shared with Bones about the fates of their friends and family. So he was suspiciously surprised when cadet Uhura joined him under the shade of a drumstick tree he had been studying under. Inwardly, he sighed, _either she's here to blubber to me about another stranger, or she's trying to exploit some of my supposed knowledge that she'll spread around the school… you never know with women – they can take the tiniest piece of information and transform it into a blown-out-of-proportion fairytale. _Instead, cadet Uhura made no effort to start a conversation with him but took out her padd to read her textbook. Dumfounded at her unusual actions, Bones stared for a few seconds before dropping his gaze back down to his padd. Uhura was the first to break the silence.

'You shouldn't blame yourself,' she said, he eyes still fixed on the textbook.

Bones looked up sharply.

'What do you mean?' he queried.

'Kirk,' she said simply, 'and don't bother listening to what anyone else says about you either.'

'Do you believe them?' Bones asked.

Uhura looked up from her padd thoughtfully while she pondered his question.

'No,' she said eventually, 'no one who's gone through what Kirk has experienced would be likely to ever tell anyone else.'

Bones regarded her curiously.

'And yet... you knew?' he concluded.

Uhura watched a hummingbird flit through the foliage of the tree and land upon a branch. It hopped over to a flower growing on the tree branch and began to extract its nectar.

'He never told me, but I guess…. I've sort of known since we the day we went into that forest… for the assignment, you know?' she told him, 'I wasn't sure whether to ask him about it in case my assumption was correct and he got upset. There is a possibility to damage a person further if you prod them too much.'

Bones noticed the hummingbird and began to watch at it as well. Satisfied, the small bird propelled itself off the branch and into the sky in a matter of seconds.

'I wished I'd seen it before… I mean, he didn't even _say_ anything when the teacher told us we'd be to studying Tarsus IV. Didn't act any different… a bit more withdrawn perhaps, but other than that I didn't notice any indication that he was upset. I just wished I could've have talked to him about it – let him know that he didn't have to go through it all alone,' said Bones, 'but… how did you know?'

'He didn't have to say anything,' murmured Uhura, 'I could _see_ it – In his actions, in his face… in his eyes.'

They both fell silent, each consumed in their own thoughts and regrets. Then Uhura swiveled her head around the field they were sitting in, a puzzled expression crossing her face.

'Do you hear that?' she asked Bones.

'Hear what?' said Bones blankly, 'I don't hear anything.'

Uhura nodded.

'Exactly,' she swept her hand around the now empty field, 'it's like everyone has just vanished.'

Bones had chosen a secluded place to study; yet when he had first arrived the lawn had already being occupied by two small groups of cadets. Now he noticed the distinct absence of sound that he had missed during his brief conversation with Uhura. Picking up his padd he got to his feet and walked over to a footpath near the edge of the turf. Uhura watched him leave and quickly gathered her belongings to catch up to Bones. Bones followed the pathway until he came to an intersection and turned right. Looking up, he slowed his pace considerably until he came to a stop. Uhura rounded the corner hurriedly and almost ran into Bones who had blocked the path. She frowned in annoyance at the back of his head.

'Wha-,' she began before catching sight of his facial expression and turned to see what he was staring at.

80 metres away from the entrance of Starfleet Academy, clusters of Starfleet cadets were spread along the lawn – their attention was focused on something near the entryway. In unison, Bones and Uhura made the decision to investigate and walked towards the other cadets.

* * *

Kirk eyes darted furtively around the academy that he had grown to know and love as his home. It had finally given him a purpose for the dead end life he had been living before Starfleet Captain Christopher Pike had challenged him to a dare – something he'd never say no to. In his peripheral vision, Kirk could see a small crowd forming. He could feel dozens of their eyes burning into his side and he resigned to concentrating on something else in hope that it would distract him. Recalling last week's events, he smiled at the fondness his memories brought him. Most of his time had been spent with Kevin, talking about his life during their 4-year separation and vice verses. Kevin had been bouncing around the foster care program for the past few years and told Kirk a saga of stories from his time with different families. His most recent 'parents' were two druggies whom had only took in Kevin for the foster money. Kevin had run away a week ago and they hadn't even bothered contacting the authorities to find him – he'd had his fair share of runaway experiences and for majority of them he'd been caught within a few days. At first Kirk was concerned for the well-being of his friend but Kevin had easily waved it off, assuring Kirk that he was content and reinforced his point by comparing his life on earth to the one they shared on Tarsus IV. Then Kirk had told Kevin about his reckless activities upon his arrival to Earth and a certain Starfleet Captain whom had dared Kirk to supersede his father's achievements. Inevitably leading to Starfleet academy and his recent encounter with Mitchell. He had admitted his dream to become a Starfleet captain, as well as his reluctance to return to the academy after loosing his control and almost strangling Mitchell. Kevin had looked Kirk straight in the eye and told him – very clearly – otherwise. _'A coward like Mitchell should never be the downfall for someone with as much potential as you,'_ he had said to Kirk, _'One day, you'll be Captain - and when you are you better save me a seat on your ship.'_ And with that cheeky remark Kevin had hugged his friend farewell and walked off to join the outside world, confident that Kirk would heed his words and pursue his dream... Which brought him back to his current dilemma. The dozens of eyes had now turned into hundreds and he began calculating the metres left until he and his escort would reach the front door. _50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and ... finally!_

* * *

Bones and Uhura shoved through the crowd to see what had captivated their attention. Uhura felt a strange sense of deja-vu as she recalled a similar confinement issue in the hallway when Kirk had attacked the soldier. Eventually, they broke through the front of the crowd and were presented with a front-row-seat of a cadet walking towards the front building, accompanied by 3 Starfleet officers. It took Bones a moment to realize that the cadet was his closest friend. As thrilled that Bones was to see Kirk, he couldn't help wondering why he would return to Starfleet academy after his incident in the corridor. He turned to Uhura for an explanation but noted her dumfounded expression and knew that they were thinking in sync. The cadet walked into the closure provided by the building and the crowd began to dissipate when they didn't have a visual on Kirk anymore.

'Do you know what he's doing?' Asked Uhura.

Bones shrugged.

'He's probably gone to talk to the commandant and secure his enrolment,' he guessed, 'but once he's done it's likely he'll head for his dorm - if I were him I'd want solitude.'

Uhura nodded at his reasoning.

'I think it's best we don't bother him, It wouldn't be helpful to invade his privacy on his first day back,' she advised.

Bones nodded in agreement and checked the time on his padd. He had a class in 10 minutes.

'I'll see you sometime tomorrow then,' he said waving goodbye as he retreated towards the east side of campus.

Uhura raised her eyebrow at his sudden departure. Glancing down at her padd she was startled by the time and began to mimic Bones panicked movements as she hurried to get to her next class.


	9. Friendship

Bones breathed deeply to calm himself. He was standing outside Kirk's dorm door, composing a 'welcome back' speech. That morning, Uhura had insisted that he visit Kirk individually so as not to overwhelm him with too many people. Bones was beginning to think that Uhura had failed to consider his plummeting confidence levels at approaching Kirk by himself. Exhaling, Bones steeled himself and knocked on the dorm door.

Silence.

He stood there for what seemed like hours but rationally, Bones knew it had only been minutes. Shifting his weight to his other leg, he stood awkwardly outside the door, which had so far emitted no response to his knock.

*Beep-beep-beep-beep*

The noise from his communicator shattered the deafening silence and Bones jerked upwards, startled. Overcoming his original shock, he fumbled for his communicator and flipped it open.

'Hello...?' He said cautiously.

'Bones,' a weary voice replied.

Bones was instantly alert.

'Kirk?' He stared at the door in front of him as if it'd turn it transparent if he looked at it long enough.

'Yeah... are you outside my dorm?' He asked.

Bones blushed.

'Ah... Yes... But if you want to be alone that's fine, I understand,' he blurted out.

_Dammit, Uhura_ he thought, _if my friendship goes downhill because of this I'll make you go first next time_. Then the door suddenly opened to reveal a very disheveled Starfleet cadet.

'Hey,' Kirk attempted a half-hearted smile, 'come in. Can't have you standing out there looking like a lost Roylan.'

He turned and retreated back into his dorm. Bones gingerly followed, nudging aside an empty beer bottle with his foot. There was a muffled 'clink!' as it collided into another bottle. He squinted through the dim light and made out a moving silhouette that sat down, heavily onto the bed. Assuming it was Kirk, Bones maneuvered through the rest of the glass hazards and seated himself next to his friend.

'Miss me?' Kirk asked sarcastically.

Bones frowned.

'Of course,' he said, 'why wouldn't I?'

Kirk shrugged and let himself fall back onto his bed, he propped his head up with his arms and moved his feet up next to him.

'Probably because I'm a deranged lunatic who has anger management problems,' he mused.

Bones snapped his head around to look at Kirk. Kirk saw his expression and rolled his eyes.

'I do watch the news you know – not as reclusive as everyone thinks' he snorted.

Bones shrugged inwardly. It'd be impossible for Kirk to not know what the media thought about the incident. After all, he wasn't a child – he would've eventually found out regardless whether anyone tried to keep him in the dark or not.

'The media tends to exaggerate, don't base your worth on reputation,' he told Kirk.

Kirk smiled slightly at Bone's advice.

'Funny, an old friend told me something along the same lines not too long ago,' he murmured.

Bones stayed silent and stared at the opposite wall. He didn't know what to say to Kirk that didn't involve reminding him of his new status.

'Are you going to start classes like normal then?' Bones finally asked.

Kirk shrugged.

'Guess so,' he told the ceiling, 'I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd be useful so I came back here.'

'That'll be interesting,' commented Bones.

He recalled the treatment he'd been getting from the academy since Kirk's departure and felt extremely sympathetic towards the tirade of unwanted attention Kirk was about to receive.

'Yeah, tell me about it,' said Kirk scornfully.

He was silent for a moment.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. You shouldn't have had to found out like that,' he whispered.

Bones didn't need to ask; he knew that Kirk was referring to his past on Tarsus IV.

'It's ok; you had every right not to tell me. Something that personal should be kept a secret,' he reassured Kirk, remembering what Uhura had told him yesterday.

Kirk smiled.

'You're a good friend Bones,' he said.

Then he grinned.

'Go on, class starts soon. Don't want you to get tardy cause of me.'

Bones smiled ruefully.

'I'll wait for you outside,' he said before walking away to do just that.

* * *

5 minutes late, Kirk re-appeared from his dorm. He'd cleaned up so that he now appeared more average and less noticeable. The pair walked outside which was unfortunately, fairly crowded with other cadets making their way to various classes. In a way, the numbers helped Kirk meld into the background – just another uniform against a backdrop of red. Kirk resisted the urge to walk at a brisker pace; fast movement would only attract attention amongst a relatively slow moving crowd. Bones was thinking similarly, he knew that it would only take a single set of eyes to spot Kirk and alert the rest of the academy to his presence. Thankfully they made it to class in time – stragglers were often noticed and reprimanded by their instructor in front of the class. There was a small increase in the whispered conversations when Kirk entered the room. The teacher glanced briefly at the cadet but his face betrayed no clue to his thoughts. Sitting down Kirk bent his head and fixed his eyes on the top of his desk, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

'If I could have all your attention to the screen,' the teacher said waiting for the noise to die down.

Once the students – save for Kirk – had complied, he turned to face the front of the classroom.

'We'll begin by looking at the...'

Kirk's mind gradually drifted away as the teacher began the lesson. As his words grew fainter, the whispers in the room became louder. _What's he doing back here? I feel sorry for him… Maybe he knows what happened to my brother… Do you reckon he's right in the head?_ Kirk squirmed in his seat, he was beginning to regret coming to class. _Should've waited longer _he thought. But then what? It wasn't as if the academy was going to forget who he was in a few measly days. He sighed in exasperation. _Grow up_ he told himself_, you're Jim Kirk who doesn't answer to anybody and loves the spotlight_... ironically...What're_ a few stares compared to a life cooped up in an office? Would you rather explore space or explore paperwork?_ Satisfied with his self-motivation speech, Kirk cautiously raised his head – just enough for him to see the content the teacher was teaching them. Thankfully, no one noticed him come out of hibernation from his desk. Inwardly, Kirk sighed – this was going to be a very long day...

* * *

Kirk groaned as he saw the usual sea of cadets streaming into the cafeteria. Bones heard the expression and grimly clapped his friend on the back.

'Quit complaining, you should've seen what I had go through when you were gone,' he told Kirk before striding into the beckoning doors of the cafeteria.

Conversely, Kirk regarded them as a giants mouth waiting for him to fall into its trap. However, before he could make a tactical retreat to his dorm he spotted a cadet walking purposefully towards him in his peripheral view and hurried to follow Bones. Apparently, his friend warded off inquisitive cadets.

* * *

Kirk burst out of the cafeteria doors, gripping his food more securely as he stumbled slightly from the extra momentum he no longer needed. He had spent the last 10 minutes struggling through a mass of bodies, questions and stares just to obtain dinner. Finally free of the attention, he hastily moved towards the nearest exit before it could catch up to him again. Bones had disappeared into the crowded cafeteria and Kirk had long since given up on finding his friend – to do so would mean spending more time in _there_. Entering the proximity of the door sensor, he walked outside and spotted a drumstick tree that appeared to provide adequate shelter. Walking over he sat, leaning against the tree trunk and took a mouthful of the food he had secured himself.

'Mind if I sit?'

He turned around and had to crane his neck to see the face behind the voice. Cadet Uhura looked downwards, expectantly at Kirk as she waited his answer.

'Sure, why not?' he replied.

Kirk figured it was safe enough to talk to her. Unlike the lunatics in the cafeteria, she had actually asked for his permission instead of launching straight into a verbal assault. Uhura sat down across from him and began eating the food she had brought with her.

'So you're back then,' she stated.

Kirk nodded.

'Starfleet is practically my life, I'd go mental if I got stuck with a desk job for the rest of my life,' he said.

'That's understandable. Although, I wouldn't be too surprised if you received the same fate getting dinner,' she said innocently.

Kirk scoffed.

'Guess you saw the miniature war back there, huh?' he asked.

Uhura smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

'It was a bit hard to miss,' she admitted.

'Finally! I've found you!' a voice announced.

Kirk flinched but then relaxed when he recognized the person who had spoke.

'Bones,' he said as his friend lumbered over.

'If I'd known you were out here I wouldn't have wasted my life looking for you in there,' he grumbled, jerking his thumb towards the cafeteria.

He notice Uhura and nodded his head towards her in greeting.

'So I suppose the tumult was inadvertently caused by you?' he said to Kirk.

Kirk nodded.

'It was crazy, they just kept coming at me,' he grumbled.

'As I recall, it's usually the other way around; now you know what it feels like,' Uhura smirked.

Kirk rolled his eyes.

'Yeah but you women always seem to want attention anyway, never remembered anyone who complained – besides you that is,' he countered.

Bones waved his arms between the quarrelling pair.

Bob the mosquito buzzed lazily through the evening air. He had been flying around the area and his stomach was now 0.05mm fatter that it had been an hour ago. He spotted a drumstick tree a few metres ahead and more importantly – three blood filled specimens. Eagerly, he made a beeline for the nearest of the three. As Bob homed in on his target, he inhaled the distinct aroma of blood. His mouth began to water in anticipation for – WOOSH! – Without warning, _something_ blotted out the setting sun and Bob's tiny brain barely had time to react to this new threat before he was knocked out of the sky.

Bones frowned slightly as he felt something small bump against the back of his waving hand but he dismissed the thought and concentrated on the matter at hand.

'Ok you two, point made, you can stop now,' he said.

Uhura glared at Kirk but acknowledged Bones and ceased from talking. The trio sat in silence for a while, enjoying the waning light of the sun. Uhura yawned.

'I'm going to head up to my dorm, catch an early night.'

She waved goodbye as she walked away. Bones glanced surreptitiously at Kirk whose eyes were fixed on the eastern horizon.

'I've got some lab work I need to get done tonight,' he began hesitantly, 'do you think you'll be alright by yourself?'

Kirk rolled his eyes.

'Of course, I'm not a kid I can take care of myself,' he said amusingly.

Bones scoffed.

'Yeah, right, tell me that when you get into another fight and I have to patch you up again,' he said sarcastically.

Bones stood up and dusted himself off. He trudged towards the general direction of the lab. Kirk kept his eyes on the horizon until the moon rose into the night sky. Somewhere, he knew Kevin was looking at it too.


	10. Questions

Kirk prowled the streets of Sam Francisco. The sun had completely disappeared underneath the horizon and the only natural source of light left was the moonlight. With Bones holed up at the laboratory, Kirk had plenty of time before curfew to do as he pleased. Tense with the drama and stress from the past week, Kirk headed to the best place he knew he could loosen up and forget his troubles, if only briefly – Chestnut Street. Filled with clubs, holo-karaoke bars and pulsating neon lights, Chestnut Street was the express ticket to forgetting unwanted memories. Returning to his dorm, he had discarded his uniform and donned civilian clothing before leaving campus. Kirk kept his eyes peeled until he sighted a reasonably empty bar. Normally he would have headed directly for the crowded, louder nightclubs but they were usually places where Starfleet cadets flocked to and therefore highly notorious – the last thing Kirk wanted was a repeat of yesterday's chaos in the cafeteria. Keeping his head down, he attempted to appear inconspicuous as he entered the bar and sought out a barstool.

'5 shots,' he told the expectant bartender, gesturing with his splayed fingers to reinforce the number.

_Should be enough_ hoped Kirk. He shrugged inwardly; if 5 shots didn't do the job he could always buy a bottle. The bartender wordlessly dropped 5 shot glasses in front of Kirk and deftly filled them with alcohol before walking away to attend to another drinker. Draining his first shot, Kirk sighed in appreciation. He quickly consumed the next three, using his elbows to lean onto the bar top as he finally felt the affects of the alcohol begin to kick in. Closing his eyes slightly, he reached out for his last shot as Jim Kirk faded away and a stranger replaced him.

'Kirk? Cadet Kirk?'

Jerking his head upwards, Kirk frowned slightly as he tried to grasp the strands of reality. The dying spark that had been Jim Kirk now sparked with renewed energy, overpowering the numbing effects of the alcohol. A lumbering form staggered towards him, easily identified as a Starfleet cadet from his stained uniform. Kirk twisted his head towards the figure as he reached the bar. The cadet looked like he had similar goals to Kirk. His eyes were bloodshot and his uniform reeked of vomit. When he talked Kirk was forced to lean sideways in his seat to escape the blast of stale breath that emanated from the cadet's mouth. Judging by the severity of the stench, the cadet had abandoned cleaning his teeth even though he'd obviously consumed a massive amount of alcohol.

'It... it is you!' cackled the cadet, pointing a shaking finger at Kirk.

Kirk eyed the unstable cadet cautiously. In his peripheral vision, he could make out the blurred forms of the bartender and other drinkers turning curiously to listen to the cadets accusations.

'My-my brother... my little brother... he was on Tarsus... he was on...' The cadet sniffled loudly.

Kirk slowly inched his way off the bar stool, his eyes alternating between the blubbering cadet and the bar exit.

'He was only nine... just a kid... red hair, brown eyes... you were on Tarsus, you knew him right? You know what happened to him?'

The cadet leaned in dangerously close to Kirk, desperation clouding his eyes and judgment.

'You knew him... I know you knew him... because-because you were there!'

Kirk stumbled off the stool and quickly backed away from the rapidly approaching cadet. The other inhabitants of the bar simply stared at him and made no move to intervene the drunken cadet.

'Please... Please you-you knew him... you know what happened to-to my brother,' wailed the cadet.

He reached out a hand to halt Kirk's retreat but Kirk noticed the gesture and doubled his pace for the door.

'Please! No! Don't go! I want to know what happened!'

Kirk eyed the cadet wearily; if he continued his silence and retreat, the cadet would most likely tackle him out of desperation. Trouble was, he had no idea who his brother was - he's known dozens of kids with red hair and brown eyes. He wasn't sure how the cadet would react to his answer but then again, it couldn't be any worse than the alternative.

'Look, I'm sorry I don't know your brother ok? I don't know what happened to him,' Kirk tried to keep his voice soothing but failed miserably.

The cadet's face contorted in rage.

'No! You're-you're lying! I want to know!' he yelled.

Great, whatever path you choose, they all lead to the same scenario though Kirk sarcastically. Turning his back to the cadet, he ran full sprint for the exit. Thankfully, the cadet's drunken state had lowered his reaction time considerably and Kirk was able to reach the door long before the cadet processed what had happened.

'Hey! Wa-wait!' the cadet yelled after Kirk.

_Sorry kid_. Kirk knew how badly the cadet must have been feeling. He melded into the shadows and walked close to the wall. When the cadet finally managed to burst his way out of the pub, Kirk was just another indistinct shadow to him. Turning into the more civilized streets, he pulled up abruptly and jerked his head at a name that caught his eye. A micro-skin screen protected by the glass of the storefront he had just walked past was broadcasting the news. Subtitles flashed at the bottom instead of audio to avoid complaint from the neighboring stores.

_... Latest reports from our informants hint that the recently discovered Tarsus IV survivor James T. Kirk could possibly be the true identity of the pseudonym 'J.T'..._

Kirk stared as a picture of a small boy in a medical tent appeared in the corner of the screen. His body was covered in lacerations and half-healed injuries. Kirk could barely recognize himself but he remembered the tent well enough. It was the same one he had been brought to after he'd been rescued.

_...J.T was the alias used by a thirteen-year-old boy whom was responsible for the survival of several other children. His true identity was never revealed – along with many of the other survivors – due to privacy concerns. Intel from various anonymous sources state that J.T was confirmed to be one of the few people who could identify the tyrant Kodos and many individuals are arguing to exploit this knowledge..._

Kirk glared at the reporter, _like hell they will_.

_...These individuals allege that the former governor is still alive and protestors – many from the families of those who were murdered in the infamous Tarsus IV massacre – are rallying against Starfleet for solid evidence to prove that Kodos truly has been irradiated. A brief interview with a protestor revealed that their collective group wishes that Jim Kirk – if he be the child hero – step forward and use his knowledge to help their cause. When we asked Starfleet about this matter, they refused to release any evidence claiming that they 'wished not to dwell on the past but instead concentrate on the future'. As of now, investigations are currently underway to determine what really happened to Kodos after his reign of terror. So is the tyrant really dead? Or is he in fact, alive? ..._

_That much I want to know_ Kirk mentally told the screen. He himself never really saw a body or even any concrete evidence of the tyrants alleged death. If Kodos really was alive, Kirk would make sure he made his life hell. He contemplated over whether to contact these 'protestors'. If he did he could give them valuable information that might lead to Kodos' capture but then again Kirk wasn't so sure that Kodos was still alive. Even though he yearned for revenge, deep down Kirk was scared. He decided to wait until more solid evidence surfaced, after all, if he helped he would be admitting to the fact that he was J.T and he wasn't completely sure he could handle the extra attention on top of what he was already receiving. Tearing his eyes off the screen, which had begun a commercial break he stuck to the shadows and headed back to the academy.


	11. Demons

Kirk plodded towards the academy cafeteria. He had forgotten to eat last night after the disturbing confrontation with the broken cadet. Since he'd consumed alcohol, his mouth felt stale and his brain struggled to keep up with his actions. Hopefully food would cure that, after all; breakfast was supposedly the most important meal of the day, wasn't it? Walking into the building where the cafeteria resided, he couldn't help notice the obviously indiscreet stares that followed him. Cadets huddled in their usual small groups, most moving some stationary. They whispered cryptically and snuck glances at him when he passed. Confused, Kirk continued his slow pursuit for food whilst his brain sluggishly wondered why they were treating him like a disease – there was the usual attention but no bodies being hurled in his direction. Then he recollected a hazy memory from last night; his pseudonym had been connected to him. Frustrated, Kirk loathed the media – why couldn't they just leave him alone? _It's called personal privacy! … And a wonderfully fat paycheck for whoever ratted me out_ Kirk irritatingly admitted.

'Kirk!'

_Oh, right, here come the bodies_ thought Kirk jadedly. He turned around… _or maybe not… _Bones was walking as briskly as he could towards Kirk sans running. When he reached him he noted the stares of the surrounding cadets and looked curiously at Kirk. When he didn't move his gaze, Kirk snapped his head towards Bones.

'What?' he demanded frustratingly.

Bones shrugged sympathetically at Kirk.

'Sorry,' he apologized.

Kirk looked sideways at his friend and sighed.

'Let it out Bones, I know you saw the news,' he grumbled.

Bones glanced at their surroundings eyeing the watching cadets.

'I'll wait till we get our food,' he said, remembering the tendency for gossip to spread to the media.

Kirk nodded and the pair stayed silent until they'd each gotten their meals and were seated at a table in an isolated part of the cafeteria – although Kirk's recent reputation seemed to do that regardless. Kirk stared at his food and pushed it around with his utensil; mentally, he knew he should eat but he couldn't bring himself to do it physically.

'So… is it true?' Bones enquired, sweeping his eyes around the room to watch for prying ears.

Kirk nodded.

'Depends what channel you choose but more or less of what the media says is the truth,' he said glumly.

Bones nodded slowly, digesting the information.

'What do you think about the protestors then?' he said, through a mouthful of cereal.

'I'm thinking of helping them…' Kirk said carefully, 'but I don't know whether or not to trust them. I mean, Starfleet's pretty much my life now but I'm not entirely sure they told the public the truth.'

Bones head snapped up and he gagged momentarily on his breakfast.

'_What!?_' he exclaimed though a fit of coughs, 'you really think Kodos is still alive?' Bones hissed, glancing mechanically around the cafeteria again.

Kirk scrunched up his face thoughtfully and fiddled with his spoon.

'I'm not saying I think he's alive, but I'm not saying he's not either…' Kirk trailed off when he caught sight of Bones perplexed face and hurried to amend his statement.

'What I meant to say, is that he _might_ be alive. I never really saw or body anything and the media _is_ telling the truth when they said Starfleet never released any solid evidence…unless you count the charcoal body,' he said.

Bones huffed and stared down at his cereal.

'When I met you in your dorm after… you know…' he gestured sympathetically, 'I told you not to base your worth on reputation and you told me that an old friend had told you something similar.'

Kirk nodded in confirmation and looked expectantly at Bones.

'Was that friend someone from Tarsus? You know, one of your… boys?' he asked.

Kirk smiled fondly.

'Yes.'

Bones looked carefully at Kirk.

'Do you know how he's coping with the news?' he asked softly, 'You should go see him, you're probably the only person he can confide in.'

Kirk sighed.

'I want to Bones, I want to so badly but I'm practically under house arrest now that the media knows who I was. If I go see him they might find out who he was too and I could never do that to him,' he said sadly.

Bones hesitated and opened to his mouth to reply but was interrupted by his communicator.

*Beep-beep-beep-beep*

He flipped it open.

_Bones! Is Kirk with you?_

Kirk jerked his head towards the communicator. He looked quizzically at Bones who merely shrugged, his face as baffled as Kirk's.

'Uhura,' he acknowledged, 'Yeah he's here, what's wrong?'

_Turn on your padd, check the news._

Obediently, Bones complied.

'Which one?' he asked, turning on his padd.

_Any, it doesn't matter._

And with that, she ended the call. Kirk leaned over, curious to see what Uhura wanted his to see. Bones opened the news; a reporter appeared on his padd screen and began talking.

_... Has them appearing to have undermined Starfleet's proclamations. According to their latest source, section fifteen of the report was falsified. Further evidence suggests that the former governor of Tarsus IV, known as 'Kodos' instead fled to Earth and has remained there till this day. Opposing groups argue against this information, accusing the protestors of conspiracy and have stated that Kodos wouldn't be foolish enough to 'hide in enemy territory' if he is indeed, alive..._

Kirk's jaw dropped to the bottom of the closest black hole, his mind reeling as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard.

'Another one,' he jabbed his finger sideways in front of the padd screen, 'change the reporter, see if anyone is saying anything different.'

Bones shook his head to bring himself out of the shocked state he had sunken into. Hastily he gestured across the screen; men, women and alien reporters flashed across the screen just long enough for the pair to hear snippets of their reports.

_...The executioner, which was given..._

_...Responsible for the murder of..._

_...Families are outraged at Starfleet..._

_...From the Symmetrists whom had..._

_...The question everyone is asking..._

'Stop!' Kirk unconsciously reached out towards Bones wrists as his friend flicked between news channels.

'What, here?' Bones asked, indicating to a female newsreader.

Kirk waved his hand a negative gesture.

'No, no go back – to the about the Symmetrists,' he said.

Bones changed the screen back to the previous newsreader.

_...According to latest reports, the Symmetrists were responsible for the escape of Kodos the Executioner. Now, protestors are claiming that the Symmetrists were also behind the 'fake' death of Kodos. They have hypothesized that the Symmetrists burnt a random body beyond recognition and made it out to be Kodos' by leaving it at his house..._

*Beep-beep-beep-beep*

Kirk jerked in his seat and hastily pulled out his communicator.

'Kirk here,' he said, glancing at Bones as his friend quickly killed the audio on his padd.

_Kirk, it's Pike. I need you to get to Vice Admiral Tullsey's office as soon as you can._

Bones raised his eyebrow at Kirk. Kirk shrugged, he was clueless too.

'Yes Sir...' Kirk said cautiously.

Pike must have heard the wariness in his voice because he replied briefly before ending the call.

_Don't worry kid, I'll meet you there as soon as I can and unfortunately there's little left that's still secret._

Kirk sighed resignedly as he closed his communicator. Pike was right, his secrets had been exposed and there was barely anything that the academy's midshipmen commandant could accuse him of. Bones put away his padd and turned to Kirk.

'I guess you've got to go then,' he told him.

Kirk sighed in exasperation and nodded glumly.

'I'll see you next class… hopefully,' he said, getting up off his chair.

Bones frowned.

'I wouldn't be so sure…' he said.

Kirk rolled his eyes and slapped his friend on the shoulder.

'Cheer up Bones, you can't walk around with a frown on your face forever,' he said with fake cheerfulness.

Walking out of the cafeteria he headed for the office buildings, screwing his eyes against the glaring sun as he left the shade of the cafeteria building. Deep down, he knew Bones was right; he should check on Riley to make sure he was ok – especially with the newest headline. A cold, dark feeling had clouded his stomach ever since Uhura had called Bones. After all those years of safety, physically anyway – Kirk's worst demon had just been resurrected.

* * *

Kirk waited outside Vice Admiral Tullsey's office, he fidgeted and repetitively shifted his weight from foot to foot. Turning his head to check the corridor, his shoulders slumped in disappointment when he found it empty. He had been standing there for the past half hour, unwilling to enter without Pike. Hearing footsteps, he twisted his head towards the sound and breathed out a sigh of relief as he caught a glimpse of gold. Christopher Pike slowed his pace as he came level to where Kirk was standing.

'Were you refused entry?' he inquired, one eyebrow raised.

Kirk smiled sheepishly.

'No, I just didn't want to go in there alone,' he admitted.

Pike nodded, he knew how Kirk must have been feeling especially with the recent events that had surfaced. Pike was one of the rare few that knew of Kirk's pseudonym before it had been splashed across the media for all the planets to see. He motioned to the door and they stepped through into the waiting room. Shortly after, the commandant's adjutant – Lieutenant Commander Judy Renfield – entered the room and addressed its occupants.

'You may see the admiral now,' she announced indicating to the door she had entered by.

Pike stood and nodded his thanks to the commandant's adjutant before striding confidentially towards the door, Kirk hurried to follow him. Entering the office, Kirk stood to attention and saluted the commandant.

'At ease cadet,' Tullsey told him before turning his attention to Pike.

'Captain,' he said.

Pike inclined his head in acknowledgment.

'Have a seat,' Tullsey motioned to two empty chairs.

After the group had seated, Tullsey leaned forwards in his chair and rested his arms on the table, palms clasped in front of him. He turned at looked at Kirk.

'Only a small number including Captain Pike and myself already know the information I am about to tell you – pause – I'll be blunt with you cadet; as you well may know, there is recent talk that the former governor of Tarsus IV is currently alive. After the events of the massacre, Starfleet announced Kodos' death and – if he isn't – had no knowledge that they were telling false information to the public. As Starfleet feels responsible for allowing the events on Tarsus IV go unchecked, a precautionary mission is underway to confirm whether Kodos really has taken refuge on Earth or if it is just another media scam. There are few who know the identity of those who can recognize Kodos by appearance but Starfleet wishes not to involve them in this investigation for fear that the media will do it's usual damage.'

Kirk could see where this was going but out of respect for his commandants rank he stayed silent and continued to listen to Tullsey.

'Captain Pike and myself have been asked to convince you to take part in this mission – should you choose to. We're not asking you to get your hands dirty, only to accompany us on our mission to identify Kodos so that we may capture, trial and condemn him.'

Kirk chewed his lip as he contemplated over the pros and cons should he get involved. He turned to Pike with a deliberate message in his expression. _What should I do?_ Pike saw the look and nodded surreptitiously at Kirk.

'Admiral, if I could please have a word with cadet Kirk?' he asked.

Tullsey nodded his consent and left the room. _No doubt we'll be monitored_ thought Pike as he watched the admiral leave. The door shut and Pike turned his attention to the cadet seated beside him.

'I want him gone… but I don't think I'll be able to keep it together if I see him,' Kirk mumbled to his lap.

Pike tilted his head questioningly.

'Keep it together?' he said.

Kirk sighed.

'When I saw Mitchell in the hallway, I almost lost it… I almost killed him,' he admitted, 'I let my anger get the better of me.'

Pike nodded to himself – he had read the report of that incident.

'What made you stop?' asked Pike.

Kirk finally looked up.

'I saw his face… it was like _their_ faces – my boys – looking back at me. He had their fear, their sadness… right before he killed them,' Kirk spat out the last sentence.

'Then remember them,' Pike said simply, 'Keep them in here,' he placed his hand over his heart.

Kirk's face morphed from sadness into determination, he looked Pike in the eye and nodded.

'I'll do it,' he said.


	12. Weakness

Kirk walked across campus, looking for the building that held his 'Tactical Analysis' class. He was tired and restless from his time with Pike the previous day. For hours, they had worked on re-creating Kodos' face as close as possible although Kirk could have sworn his ears were a tad too big. Pike had told him he'd run the face through the system and contact Kirk if anything matched. Trudging into class, he chose a desk at the back of the room, which appeared to be isolated from its peers. Slumping into the chair, he lowered his head just enough that he could still see the other cadets in front of him. Most of them snuck glances towards his desk and more than one was curious. Kirk ignored them; his mind was still on yesterday's event. The teacher began the class, some students fell asleep, Kirk's mind raced ahead of the content, he got bored – overall a typical lesson. When class finished Kirk hurried out and blended into the crowd, staying as inconspicuous as possible. He finally made it outside where the crowd dispersed and was instantly met by Bones – his friend had an uncanny ability of finding Kirk whenever and wherever he was.

'So is it classified?' Bones asked.

Kirk smirked at his friend.

'No one told me it wasn't but then again, no one told me it was,' he said cryptically.

'In your books I guess that means tell the world, eh?' scoffed Bones.

Kirk shrugged.

'Starfleet's probably going to tell the world themselves soon,' Kirk said, 'but right now it's tell Bones and the world can find out after it's over'.

Bones raised his eyebrow in a quizzical expression. Kirk rolled his eyes at his friend's expectant expression; he was never good at keeping secrets anyway. Checking to make sure the other cadets weren't within earshot, Kirk slowed his pace and leaned towards Bones so that his friend could hear him clearly.

'Starfleet's going to try and track down Kodos,' he muttered, 'but I don't think it's wise to tell anyone incase he gets a warning and goes off-planet.'

Bones eyes widened.

'So they were lying after all?' he said in a hushed tone.

Kirk shook his head.

'No I'm pretty sure they were certain Kodos was dead, they just hadn't ruled out the possibility that he'd faked his own death.'

Bones nodded in understanding.

'So you spent the entire afternoon and most of the evening at Tullsey's office _just_ so they could tell you that?' Bones asked sarcastically.

'They want me to identify Kodos for them,' Kirk admitted.

Bones nodded thoughtfully.

'Makes sense,' he mused.

Bones checked his position and realized he was in the wrong part of campus. He nudged Kirk who had continued to head towards his next class.

'I've got class in the lab,' he said jerking his thumb behind him in the general direction of the laboratory.

Kirk nodded consent as Bones disappeared in the opposite direction.

*Beep-beep-beep-beep*

Kirk flipped his communicator open.

_Kirk, we got a few matches. Rendezvous back at the Admiral's office._

It was Pike. _That was fast_ thought Kirk before changing his course to the office buildings. 20 minutes later he arrived at his destination.

'Kirk,' Pike greeted him.

Kirk nodded in reply and came to attention at the admiral's presence.

'At ease,' Tullsey replied and Kirk abandoned his salute.

Greetings made, Pike displayed the faces the computer had matched to a screen in the office. Admiral and Captain turned expectantly to Kirk as the cadet scrutinized the faces. It didn't take long; Kirk recognized the face as soon as he laid eyes on the photograph.

'That's him,' he pointed to the face on the far left.

Immediately, Pike terminated the connection from the screen. He didn't want to cause Kirk anymore distress than was needed.

'Thanks Kirk,' he said softly.

The Admiral turned to the cadet.

'You do understand, I have to ask you to accompany us incase we attack the wrong man,' he said carefully to the cadet.

Kirk breathed in deeply and nodded. He wanted to be able to confirm Kodos' arrest with his own eyes the next time he saw Kevin.

* * *

Kirk sat in a metallic chair outside a small café. He was dressed in civilian clothing, as was Pike who was sitting opposite him at the miniscule table. He squirmed in his seat, his eyes sweeping fearfully around the area. Pike watched him from across the table.

'It's ok, you can calm down – Tullsey will let us know when we get eyes on him,' he murmured to Kirk.

Kirk gave Pike a strained smiled and worked on his breathing to chase away the memories that were threatening to overthrow him.

_Tullsey to Pike; walk with Kirk to the edge of the steps – about 10 metres east of your position. _

Pike glanced at Kirk to check if he'd received the message. Kirk nodded surreptitiously. Before they'd left campus, both Pike and Kirk had donned earpieces so that they wouldn't have a communicator broadcasting the mission for the world to hear. Pushing his chair back from the table, Pike pushed himself up and motioned for Kirk to follow him. They walked to the steps as per request form the Admiral and scanned the people below.

'Is he suppose to down there?' Pike muttered.

_According to out intel – yes. But Kirk will need to confirm; can you identify anyone cadet?_

Kirk peeled his eyes as he searched the sea of faces below.

'That's a lot of people,' he admitted.

_He's wearing all black sans for a dark brown shirt – look for the man walking towards the sculpture._

Kirk switched his gaze in accordance to the admiral's instruction. He sighted a ridiculously large wooden cube – supposedly the 'sculpture' the admiral had mentioned…. There! A man who matched the admiral's description was walking docilely towards the cube. Kirk focused on the man's face and had to shake off a moment of panic as he recognized the former governor.

'That's him,' he confirmed quietly.

Pike turned to Kirk in concern, his face had paled considerably and he was staring at the black and brown clad man. Pike gently laid a hand on Kirk's inner arm, pulling slightly so that the cadet started and turned to look at Pike with haunted eyes.

'It's ok kid,' Pike told him softly.

Kirk smiled and nodded his thanks. He turned his gaze back to the cube, remembering the promise he'd made himself to testify Kodos' arrest to Kevin. The tyrant continued his slow pace towards the giant cube and in his peripheral vision Kirk could make out the indistinct blurs of the Starfleet officers moving in to arrest the criminal. Indistinct yelps of surprise and retorts emanated from below as the officers pushed their way through the crowd; Kodos momentarily disappeared as the wooden cube obscured Kirk's view. He waited expectantly, eyes intent on the far side of the cube he knew Kodos would reappear from. He waited; the officers moved in – Kodos still hadn't appeared yet… something was wrong. Starfleet personnel surged behind the cube, phasers at the ready; set to 'stun'.

Silence.

Total, agonizing silence as Kirk waited for the admiral to report Kodos' status.

_Pike, Kirk… did any of you see Kodos move out from the cube?_

Kirk's heart filled with despair and he frantically searched the citizens below. Pike looked inquiringly at Kirk, the cadet shook his head miserably.

'Negative,' Pike reported.

_Everyone receive the orders to split. Pike, take Kirk and see if you identify him again from your elevated position. The officers will sweep the ground level._

Pike nodded grimly and set of at a brisk pace in the direction Kodos had been heading in. Kirk followed, his eyes methodically swept the crowd for a familiar face; he fought an overwhelming sense of panic – what if he couldn't find Kodos? What if he went free? ..._No… no… no…yes!_

'There!' Kirk nudged Pike and pointed out the man he had previously identified.

Unfortunately, Kodos chose that exact moment to turn to his right and notice a familiar looking individual pointing in his direction. His eyes widened as he recognized the pointer… and ran.

* * *

'He's 50 metres south from the original attack position,' Pike alerted the admiral, 'Do you wish us to – he's running!'

_What!?_

'Kodos! He must have se – Kirk!'

* * *

Seeing his enemy attempting to flee, Kirk was galvanized into action and took off in pursuit; determined to put away the man who had traumatized him for so many years. Dimly his brain processed a distant voice yelling his name but he ignored whoever had called him, slowly loosing himself to the memories that had suddenly flooded his head; leaving no room for rational thoughts.

* * *

'Kirk!' Pike yelled after the rapidly shrinking figure.

_What's happening Captain?_

'Kodos ran, Kirk's chasing him... Send all security south!'

_Affirmative_

Pike didn't wait any further; he took off in pursuit after Kirk.

* * *

_Dammit how fast can a 40 something year old man run?_ Kirk thanked Starfleet for all the times they had made him run marathons whenever he got in trouble with a teacher. Chucking a fleeting glance behind him, he spotted several Starfleet officers pursuing the criminal as well. Pulling up suddenly, Kirk came close to loosing his balance as the runway petered out into a 2-meter drop straight below to the ground level Kodos was currently on. Swinging his gaze around, he did a double take when he spotted Kodos. Surged with adrenaline, his brain processed and calculated the criminal's approximate position in the next 10 seconds. Given the direction he was heading and the position his eyes were locked onto…. Kirk discarded all irrelevant information and jumped.

* * *

Pike panted; he cursed the old devil that was age, deteriorating his stamina and speed ever since he had passed the 30-year mark. His feet thudded rhythmically onto the pavement, shouts rose from below as the pursuing Starfleet officers yelled warnings and ordered Kodos to stop. Citizens scrambled out of the way as the officers barged through the crowd; alternatively Pike was able to move at a constant velocity without any obstacles blocking his path. Keeping his eyes wide open, he simultaneously tracked the two sprinting figures ahead of him. Pike's stride faltered momentarily as he saw Kirk skid to a stop, reeling as he tried to obtain his balance. The small figure paused for a fraction of a second before retreating a few paces from the ledge and then continuing his previous forward motion, flinging himself off the edge.

* * *

Kirk free fell diagonally towards the ground below. A split second before impact, he curled himself into a ball in a movement he had rehearsed countless times at the academy. He maintained his crouching position, rolling to absorb and break the fall. He used the momentum from his forward roll to push himself up from his crouch without using his arms. Pivoting, he spun in a half-circle until his eyes met with Kodos'. The tyrant stumbled slightly as he checked his sprint and slid to a halt a few meters away from Kirk. Strangely, Kirk's fear had been left behind on the ledge and only his anger remained. He glared fiercely at Kodos and began advancing towards his childhood nightmare. Kodos' eyes reflected a brief flicker of… fear? Before they hardened and he smiled sinisterly at Kirk – eyes cold, dark and completely merciless. However, before either adversary could react a Starfleet officer stumbled into the scene, breathing heavily and brought out his phaser.

'Stand down!' he aimed the phaser at Kodos.

The citizens in the vicinity scattered before the phaser although some actually neared, hopeful for a spot of real-life violence – not surprisingly, some of them were reporters; alerted to the scene by various citizens who had recognized Kirk as he sat outside the café earlier with Captain Pike. Kodos flicked a bored look at the officer and noted that majority of the battalion where still several metres away. Ducking low, he rammed himself into the officer, knocking the man to the ground and winding him in the process. The officer's phaser flew through the air, bouncing twice as it hit the pavement before sliding to a stop 3 meters away from the grappling pair. Unable to breathe, the Starfleet officer could only watch in a detached daze as a rapidly approaching fist suddenly blocked his field of vision. Kodos lurched away from the incapacitated officer and reached with his outstretched hand for the discarded phaser. Before he could however, another hand snatched the weapon away and Kodos quickly clambered up onto his feet.

Kirk aimed the phaser at Kodos' head. At this proximity there was no way he could miss but his hand was unexpectedly steady; he had set the phaser to 'kill'.

'Kirk!'

Kirk kept his eyes locked on Kodos but flinched when he recognized the voice. Pike walked cautiously towards Kirk, his phaser out albeit he made no move to shoot. With the stolen phaser set to 'kill', Pike didn't want to risk stunning Kirk incase his hand jerked and triggered the command anyway. Kodos stared straight back into Kirk's eyes - he stared down his imminent death.

'J.T,' he mocked, 'think you're such a hero, don't you? Wait till the world finds out your just a cold blooded murderer.'

Kirk's hand began to tremble slightly. He remembered the drawling voice all too familiarly; the careless tone that had casually ordered the death of thousands as if he were dismissing an unwanted plate of food.

'Thought you were something special, didn't you? Thought I actually cared for you... you were nothing more than another smart-ass; a tool for my uprising,' he sneered.

'Kirk, don't listen to him,' Pike cautioned.

Kodos ignored that Starfleet Captain as if he didn't exist.

'You never should've loved those kids, they never loved you – they were just desperate, so they _used_ you. Love is weakness, boy and you paid the ultimate price for it,' Kodos spat out, 'I made sure of that, didn't I Jimmy?'

His cruel, twisted smile pierced Kirk like daggers.

Pike was getting desperate; Kodos' taunts were pushing Kirk towards the inevitable, every gibe was causing Kirk's finger to add more and more pressure onto the trigger. _Where's my plan B?_ Thought Pike.

'He's lying J.T.'

A new voice added itself to the psychological battle. Pike silently breathed out a sigh of relief _there it is_. Kevin Riley approached Kirk from behind Kodos so that his friend would still be able to see him with the phaser locked onto Kodos.

'We weren't just friends; we were your brothers – you were the only person who ever showed us any kindness through that nightmare,' Kevin said softly.

Kirk's hand clenched the phaser tighter and he blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

'No one deserves to be murdered, J.T,' Kevin whispered.

'To do a great right, do a little wrong,' murmured Kirk, recited Shakespeare.

'What's done, cannot be undone,' Kevin said simply, quoting from Macbeth.

Kodos watched the byplay, he narrowed his eyes at the wavering cadet.

'Weakness, Kirk,' he warned.

Kirk held his position for a few more seconds, then his eyes burned with clarity and the anger fled his system. Staggering away from his enemy he dropped the phaser, horrified at his actions. Kevin ignored Kodos and rushed past him to where his friend now sat, hyperventilating from shock. Starfleet security surged towards the criminal, wasting no time making their arrest. Within a few seconds, the officers, cadet, citizen and criminal were being transported to Starfleet Security.


	13. Family

Kirk sat in the waiting area, his head buried in his hands. Pike walked over to the cadet and sat in the adjacent chair.

'I almost lost it again,' Kirk mumbled into his hands.

Pike looked thoughtfully at the young man sitting beside him.

'No, Kirk… I knew you'd never pull the trigger,' he told the cadet.

Kirk dropped his hands and looked the Starfleet Captain in the eyes.

'But I almost did,' he repeated, 'if Kevin hadn't been there I'd be in that cell right now with Kodos.'

Pike stared back into the young mans eyes.

'But you didn't,' he said firmly, 'Kevin _was_ there and you're out here while Kodos is in there.'

Kirk's gaze didn't budge and Pike's eyes narrowed slightly at his scrutiny.

'Why was Kevin there?' Kirk asked, although his tone implied he already knew the answer.

Pike didn't shift his gaze either.

'Why don't you ask him?' he said evenly.

'I'm asking you,' Kirk pointed out.

Normally, Pike would have sternly reprimanded any cadet who dared answer him in such a way but Kirk was an exception; after all, Pike had been the one who had found Kirk and rescued him on Tarsus IV.

'I saw you scanning the crowd when I was holding the phaser against Kodos. Just barely, mind you – in my peripheral vision – but I saw your eyes nevertheless,' Kirk told him.

Pike raised his eyebrow at Kirk in amusement. Kirk took it as a sign to continue.

'You weren't looking in the direction that back-up was coming from, so you must have been looking for something or someone else,' he mused.

Kirk finally tore his eyes away and leaned back in his chair, sighing as he did so and staring at the wall in front of him.

'You knew Kevin was going to show up, didn't you,' he stated disgruntledly.

Pike turned his gaze to the opposite wall as well.

'Anger is a curious thing,' he said innocently, 'it can cause determination and success, or cloud our judgment – make us forget everything else and ultimately cause failure.'

Kirk grunted, he propped his elbow up on the armrest and rested his head in the palm of his hand.

'I guess Starfleet doesn't take risks, huh?' he said matter-of-factly.

Pike inclined his head apologetically.

'The thought of your boys may have been enough to stop you from strangling an adversary, but Kodos is your nemesis; I thought you might've needed a little more realism that a memory,' he said helpfully.

'It's a good thing you did, too,' Kirk told him.

* * *

Kevin sat on Kirk's bed, poking through his friend's padd – with permission of course.

'You sure you want to do this?' Kirk's muffled voice drifted through the sealed off entry to his bathroom.

'Yep,' Kevin replied, 'If you're doing it, so am I – there's no way your going through this alone. Anyway, I got asked too as well you know.'

Kirk walked out of the bathroom, dressed in modest civilian clothing. He dropped his Starfleet academy uniform onto his bed and Kevin handed him back his padd.

'I want to see Kodos get what he deserves,' Kevin told his friend firmly, 'the media already know who I am ever since his arrest so it's not like I'm risking my privacy for this – my secrets are out as much as yours.'

Kirk smiled fondly at Kevin's familiar, determined attitude. He nodded and motioned to the door.

'Ok, let's go.'

* * *

Kevin alighted timidly from the vehicle; he swallowed nervously as he sighted the crowd of reporters not far off – barely being held back by security. He felt a hand on his shoulder and twisted his head around. Kirk smiled reassuringly at his friend and nodded. Kevin took a deep breath and returned the smile before the pair turned forward and braved the swarm of reporters. It was uncanny; Kodos trial date had only been announced a few hours ago yet the media had still managed to locate the venue and set up shop in time for the hearing. Noticing Kevin and Kirk, they immediately doubled their efforts to over-run security.

'_Jim Kirk! What are your thoughts on todays trial?'_

'_Are you expecting a positive outcome?'_

'_What do you have to say to the families of those who lost loved ones on Tarsus IV?'_

'_Kevin Riley! What was your connection to Jim Kirk during the massacre?'_

Kirk maintained his gentle grip on Kevin's shoulder as he steered his friend protectively towards the courthouse. He kept his head low and turned away from the cameras. Their escort of Starfleet officers did their best to keep the reporters at bay.

'_Why would you attend the academy of the same people who abandoned you when you needed them most?'_

'_Isn't Starfleet the reason your father is no longer alive?'_

Kirk waved his hand in a warding gesture towards the press.

'No comment!' he yelled at them.

Unfortunately, it did little to stem the flood of questions.

The trial was quick and simple. Kirk and Kevin respectively provided their testimonies and each confirmed that the man on trial was indeed, Kodos the executioner. After a brief squabble between the lawyers, the judge declared his verdict and Kodos' punishment for his crimes.

* * *

Kirk sat atop the same hill Kevin had found him on. He stared out into the distance, breathing in deeply. For the first time in a long time, he felt absolutely and unequivocally free. Kodos was behind bars and his faith in Earth's justice system was restored. In the distance, he could hear two sets of footsteps approaching him from behind. When they were a few metres away from him, he turned to see their owners and smiled as he recognized his friends. Returning the joyous expression, Bones and Kevin sat down onto the grass either side of Kirk.

'Looks like you two have gotten to know each other,' commented Kirk.

After hearing of Kodos' hearing on the news, Bones had tracked his friend to Starfleet Security to check on his wellbeing. Upon arrival, he had seen his friend conversing with a young boy. Putting two and two together, Bones had quickly concluded that the boy was Kirk's 'old friend' from Tarsus IV.

Riley grinned at the doctor.

'He and I have similar goals,' he said.

Kirk raised an eyebrow.

'Is that so?' he questioned, 'would those goals happen to involve me?'

'Yeah, goals to keeping your sorry ass out of trouble,' Bones scoffed.

Kirk grinned as he swung an arm over each of his friend's shoulders.

'What would I do without you two?' he laughed.

Bones frown deepened which only caused Kirk's grin to grow wider.

'As if you'd ever make our job any easier,' Bones grumbled.

The trio fell silent as they watched the world below them. Life was good thought Kirk as he sat atop the hill – he couldn't ask for anything more than for friends who loved him. He real family might be gone, but his friends were his family now.


End file.
